The merciless king
by Tammy Two Paws
Summary: From stories to legends, from legends to myths, and from myths to barely a whisper that slowly dies. The era of the dark lord might have ended, but another era, another reign of evil, is about to start. 'Progressive-evil Naruto. Rated T, might change'
1. And so it begins

**Welcome to the alternate version of King! Now, the first four chapters are basically the exact same in my two 'King' stories, but after chapter 5, a lot, if not everything is different.**

**SO LET'S START!**

**"Blablabla" *Speech.**

**'Thinkthinkthink' Thoughts. '**_**With italics'**_ **means an ethereal being talks to a human.**

***An action, or reactionary sound, like a gasp, grunt or sigh***

_**Just italics in general mean either a flashback, or a vision.**_

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* (This one's much prettier**)**

All in all, when Naruto actually thought about it, this idea was freaking stupid.

Why did he listen to Mizuki? I mean heck, He might be somewhat dense, but to actually believe Mizuki when he told Naruto this? He felt like smacking himself right now. He should just have gone to Iruka and asked for another chance, maybe another jutsu, or another practical test. Heck, his stealth is the best in his class!

"I'm gonna be in so much trouble when they find me." Naruto mumbled as he landed in a clearing. It wasn't the same clearing as he was supposed to meet Mizuki in, but right now he didn't care. He just wanted to find a place to lay low until someone he trusted ran past… He had to admit though; he was a bit curious about what's inside the scroll.

*Sigh* "I'm already in enough trouble, adding another crime can't make it much worse."

Opening the scroll, he noticed that it was a lot shorter than he thought. The wood-pin thing actually took up basically all the space. Rolled out, the paper was maybe two feet long, forming a square.

"Okay, what the heck is up with this big thing? You don't even need it dammit!" Throwing the piece of wood away in frustration, he then looked at the piece of paper in front of him.

A single word was written in the center of the paper. Inside a circle that was made of many strange squiggly lines, the word 'King' stood written, basically glaring him in the face.

"King? What the…?" He muttered. "Umm… Chakra?" He said as he inserted some chakra into the word.

Nothing happened.

"Dammit, what the heck am I supposed to do then?!" He yelled in frustration.

A memory flashed in front of his eyes. About two years ago in the academy, when they were going to practice kunai throwing. Somehow, all the kunai was gone, so Iruka had let them use his own. They puffed out of a scroll after he used a drop of his own blood on it. He remembers being mesmerized by that, though Iruka never taught him how to make those scrolls.

Blinking, Naruto bit his own thumb and swiped it across the word. He grinned from his own accomplishment when the scroll lit up in a green light, a light that somehow managed to portray the very word that was etched on the scroll.

As the light grew stronger, Naruto had to look away, and for just a brief moment, Naruto shivered as a scream emanated from the scroll, a scream taken straight out of man's darkest nightmares.

Soon the light dimmed, making him able to turn around again. The scroll had burned up, and in its place laid three objects.

The first object was a sword. The handle was a bit longer than a foot, and the crown was shaped somewhat like, well, a crown. The guard curved slightly, and was about half the length of the handle, and looked like it was made of silver. The blade itself was over three feet long, and was made by some sort of dark metal. While this in itself wasn't weird (after all, Kunai are made from a dark metal) It sort of seemed like the light became… Dimmed around the blade.

The second object was a dagger about half the size of the sword. It was almost a perfect replica of the sword, but the guard was curved the other way, and the blade looked like almost like silver.

The last object, Naruto noted, was a black cloak which the weapons laid on.

"What, no crown?" Naruto muttered, sniggering about his own joke. He leaned forward and grabbed the sword.

And at that moment, Pain erupted throughout his body.

_He got visions of a landscape far away, of a plain where people in armor rode horses, a castle hidden away in a valley, a forest with… Moving trees? What the hell? Grotesque creatures roamed the lands, slaughtering entire villages, an old man dressed in white stood atop his gigantic tower made of metal, staring out at the burning furnace before him._

_It moved, and he now saw a white city, bigger than anything Naruto had ever seen. Atop the city, a man ran out of a building, past a white tree, screaming while he burned. Something that looked like dragons flew through the skies and on them rode cloaked men. Another man dressed in white stood atop the walls, having a staring competition with one of the dragon riders, a man that could easily be identified as the leader of the cloaked men._

_The vision shifted again, the cloaked leader stood on his knees in front of a woman, having just been stabbed by someone shorter than Naruto. And then, for just a brief moment before he was skewered by the woman's sword, Naruto felt that the man stared at him through his helmet, that even though Naruto wasn't there, the man could still feel his presence._

And then everything faded to black before he was returned back to the clearing, one hand clutching his chest while the other clenched the handle of the sword.

"What… What was that?" Naruto muttered as the pain went away. _*As a thousand needles in my heart*_ went through his mind, which made Naruto jump. He looked around desperately, but he neither saw nor heard anything, not even animal life, which should have made him creeped out, but in his current state of mind, he didn't notice.

He looked back at the other two items, noticing that the sword was surprisingly light, and after a moment of hesitation, he picked up the dagger.

… Nothing happened.

He let out a sigh of relief, but then a thought entered his mind.

"How the hell am I supposed to get all this back?" He muttered before noticing something inside the cloak.

Two scabbards and two different belts, one for the sword, and one for the dagger.

He took another glance at the dagger, feeling uneasy touching it to be honest, and then a ghastly voice rang through his mind.

'_A blade only to be used in the direst of situations, against the strongest opponents, never to be used carelessly.'_

He paled. "I'm going insane." Naruto muttered to himself while he sheathed the weapons and secured them around him, the dagger at his waist and the sword at his back since he was too short to have it at his waist.

A moment later, the voice came back, screaming '_DODGE'_ and Naruto dodged to the right, a big shuriken embedded in the ground where he just had been.

"Dammit!" A familiar voice grunted, and Naruto paled even more as he turned around and stared at the silver-haired man, his academy teacher Mizuki.

"Naruto, where's the scroll." Mizuki said, jumping down from the tree he stood in.

"W-What's going on here?" Naruto said as he took a step back.

Mizuki looked around the clearing, dismissing the weapons Naruto carried, and noticed the ashes near the black cloak.

"You little shit, you burnt the scroll!" He screamed, a fury like nothing Naruto had ever seen before clear in his eyes. He somewhat composed himself, a cruel grin stretched across his face.

'Yes,' he thought. 'That'll probably break his feeble little mind.'

"Hey Naruto, ever wondered why you are so hated?" He said to Naruto, his voice sugarcoated so much it made Naruto sick.

He didn't even wait for an answer. "As you know, almost thirteen years ago, the Nine-tailed fox attacked the village and the fourth Hokage killed the fox, right? Well that is a lie! He didn't kill the fox, but he sealed it! Can you guess what he sealed it in?"

"It can't be." Naruto whispered, taking a step back, a cruel laughter ringing in his head.

"YES! The fourth sealed the fox into a baby, and that baby is you! YOU ARE THE NINE-TAILED FOX!" He screamed, madness seeping from every syllable.

Naruto trembled, shock entering his mind, then a thought flew by his mind.

"Wait, how can I be the fox if the fox is sealed in me? That's just stupid! That's like calling a scroll with a kunai sealed in it the kunai!" He yelled back, anger beginning to rise.

"I DON'T CARE!" Mizuki screamed, grabbing the shuriken on his back before throwing it. "JUST DIE!"

Naruto saw the shuriken come closer, and without thinking about it, he crouched down, grabbed the handle of his sword, and slashed at the shuriken, somehow managing to send it back at the murderous man.

Both of them looked a bit shocked that Naruto managed to do that, but despite that minor shock, Mizuki dodged out of the way and ran faster than Naruto thought he was capable of, delivering a hard kick to his stomach, sending him crashing into a tree.

*Cough* "Dammit." He grunted, still holding his sword as he stood up shakily.

_'Let me do it.'_ He heard.

'What?' A shadowy visage entered his mind.

'_Let me… Help you.'_ It whispered.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, but a moment later he nodded.

"Okay."

Mizuki had no idea what just happened.

The scenario was almost perfect. The demon brat was hurt, and he was running towards him, intending to finish him off. Then a moment later was sent flying back through the air by the same brat after a punch in the face.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" He yelled, staring at the boy.

With his head bowed, Naruto took a step forward, the sword being dragged through the grass.

"This body…" Came from the boy, and Mizuki took a double take at that voice.

That was not the brat's voice!

"What I would give to have a body like this in my era." A slithering voice said. "Stronger than any human was, stronger than even me… My master would have endeared this body…"

"W-Who the fuck are you?" Mizuki meant to yell that, but his voice came out as barely a whimper. What was the most terrifying about the voice wasn't that the brat said it, but that it was a corrupted mix of the boy's voice and… Something else.

The 'boy' raised his head, and Mizuki's eyes widened.

Those eyes. So empty, like looking into the darkest pit in hell, like a spiraling madness without relief. The black orbs of death himself.

A wicked grin spread across the boy's face.

"Impudent human, talking to me like that… Let me show you what true fear feels like."

A scream echoed across the clearing, a scream filled with so much terror and torment that Mizuki crumbled to the ground, shielding his ears as much as possible from that horrible noise. So many ways to die, his own death shown in more ways than he thought possible blocked his eyes.

And then it stopped, yet Mizuki couldn't manage the strength to rise from his fallen position. He couldn't do anything else than to quiver where he laid as he heard soft footsteps come closer to his position, and that constant sound of the sword being dragged.

"Weak, pathetic being. Even the humans from my time didn't fall over like this." It said, coming closer.

"But I will not take this kill… No. Rather, the new one shall do it… This world shall once again fear the wrath of the Nazgul."

Naruto had seen it all. He heard what that man, that… Nazgul, as he called himself said. He felt what he did, and that scream. So terrifying. Yet, Naruto could at most only feel a shiver run up his spine.

'_Finish him.'_

Naruto gulped, hesitating. 'I… I have to do it sometime. It's a part of my j-job after all.'

Breathing deeply, he looked down at the sobbing man. He raised his sword, and with a quick slash, the head rolled of his body.

He stared at his sword, that dark sword that seemed even darker somehow. The blood slowly slid down the blade, and Naruto followed it slowly with his gaze.

"I… I should feel… more than this." He muttered to himself, falling to his knees.

He sat there for several minutes, just looking at the body, not a single thought entering his mind. The blood from Mizuki's neck had stopped flowing, and had begun to clot, which made Naruto take a look at his sword. For some reason, not a single drop was left on the blade.

With a shaky breath, Naruto stood up, clutching the sword in his hand. He looked around and noticed the black cloak. He walked to it, bent over, and picked it up when he heard a gasp.

Spinning around, he stared at the newly arrived person. None other than his other teacher, Iruka.

Despite seeing his best friend dead, he quickly scanned over the area, noticing several things. Near the first thrown shuriken was an imprint of sandals that was deeper than other places, meaning that whoever stood there, probably Naruto had jumped away. By the imprint, he noticed that Naruto must have stood with his back turned, which meant that Mizuki probably attacked first.

'But why would he…' Iruka mused.

"I-Iruka sensei?" Naruto stammered, clutching his sword. "Are you here to kill me too?" He almost growled, glaring at his teacher.

Iruka snapped his eyes at Naruto, and before the boy could blink, the man was fussing over him.

"Naruto, are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened here? Why did you knock out the Hokage? Where did you find this stuff?"

He knelt down in front of the boy that seemed to have entered some kind of shocked state.

"Naruto, I need you to tell me what happened here. Did Mizuki plan this?" He said seriously, his eyes boring into Naruto's eyes, eyes that had returned to their normal blue hue.

'_Lie'_

'But… He's Iruka! I can't lie to him!'

'_Lie, or remain weak.'_

He took a deep breath.

"Mizuki… Mizuki tricked me into trying to take the scroll of sealing. After I knocked out the Hokage with my henge, I took the wrong scroll in desperation. It was really only a storage scroll with some reserve equipment, but I didn't notice that before I came here. I decided to train a bit before Mizuki found me and then…" He hesitated, but not for the reason Iruka thought.

"He attacked you, and you defended yourself, am I right?" Naruto nodded, a tiny bit of relief on his face before it hardened.

"When were you going to tell me about the Kyuubi? Out of all the people to tell me, Mizuki had to be the one." He muttered, scowling at his teacher.

Iruka sighed before hugging Naruto to him.

"I meant to do it after you graduated. I didn't want you to be bothered by the thoughts of Kyuubi before you became a gennin… This is a rank I think you have earned after stopping a traitor to Konoha." He said.

"Close your eyes Naruto." He muttered, taking of his head-band when he noticed Naruto closed his eyes, and put it over his head.

"Congratulations gennin Naruto Uzumaki." He said, smiling while he held the boy's green goggles.

He expected to be crushed by one of Naruto's hugs, but instead he got a boy that looked at the ground. Sighing, Iruka put his hand on Naruto's head.

"It hurts Naruto, it really does hurt to take another person's life, but in time, the pain becomes a bit more bearable." He said, hugging Naruto again.

'But… I don't feel bad for doing it'.


	2. An uneasy team

**Writing an AU version gives me an excuse to spell-check everything I have written, so in the end, both versions will have less mistakes in the end!**

**Anyway, LET'S START!**

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The last week had been a strange one for everyone in Konoha. The first that had happened was that the security had been increased around the village. Apparently, the fact that an academy failure managed to not just enter the Hokage's private library, but also knock out the aforementioned Hokage and steal a scroll, even if the scroll was without much value, (Nope, no value at all) was a sign that they should take this seriously.

The second and last thing that had happened was the fact that the week had been surprisingly quiet. Usually, there would have been a certain orange-clad boy that would run around, pulling pranks on everyone while screaming on the top of his lungs that he was gonna be the next Hokage. That didn't happen this week, and for a somewhat good reason too.

Naruto awoke that morning, feeling less enthusiastic than he had felt in years. He had somewhat become used to it, for he hadn't really had much positive energy this last week.

He stretched, hearing his back make cracking noises, and when he was satisfied, he went over to the window, pulled the curtains away, and promptly swore as he covered his eyes.

This was another thing that made Naruto's mood drop. For some reason, everything seemed to become brighter for each day. In the start, it wasn't really all that noticeable, but as the week passed, he had to squint more and more. It was really becoming quite annoying if he had to be honest with himself.

But he smiled when he turned away from the window. One good thing had happened this last week, and that was the fact that he felt stronger than ever before. The sword that he got from the scroll, for some reason, it felt almost natural to use it. He wasn't anywhere near good with it, but he could easily hold himself against most of his class with it if he had too he guessed.

He hadn't trained much with the dagger though. For some reason, he always felt uneasy when he held it, like something was lurking in the blade, just waiting for him to stab someone. Yet, he felt he couldn't leave it in the house unguarded, so the least he did was hide it away behind some loose floor-planks, a trap here and there put up if only to annoy the would-be thief.

The cloak, he had only used once, and that was the item that mystified him the most. As the light became more annoying, he had to find something to at least block some of the sunlight. He had tried a hat, he had tried sunglasses. Heck, he had even tried a non-orange jacket that had a pretty big hood, but yet the light almost blinded him. But yesterday, when he used the cloak for the first time, everything became darker for him, and the light levels changed to a much more acceptable level.

But being lost in his own mind was not on his agenda that day. Today, he would be given his team! He had actually went shopping just two day ago for some darker clothes. They were still pretty much orange, but they were at a darker, and much more manageable shade for both others and himself. It didn't help that he was almost blinded just three days ago when he opened his closet. He also liked wearing his new head-band around his neck, just felt more comfortable. (And his hair somewhat shadowed for the sun, even if it barely worked.)

As he opened the door to leave, he looked back at the hiding place of his weapons and cloak. A part of him said to just leave them, but another part, almost possessively, screamed at him to bring them with him.

"I'll come back for you." He whispered, almost in a trance. He broke eye-contact with the spot, and as he took a deep breath, he went out of the apartment, and closed the door.

He left for the academy pretty early, not feeling like rushing to get there in time for once. As he walked down the street, he once again noticed the looks the villagers gave him. For some reason though, instead of making him depressed, it almost felt like the glares fueled him. It actually felt so good he almost broke into a smile.

Of course, all good things had to end as he closed in on the academy. He saw kids younger than him scurry around, trying to find their friends before their first year, and he also saw several people about his own age sitting around in their own cliques.

He couldn't be bothered by any of them, so he just strode straight into the academy, quickly finding his classroom door, where he was instantly greeted with a wall of sound.

Jupp, everyone that had passed was inside. Hinata, Kiba, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Shino, Chouji and several more he just couldn't remember the name of. Speaking about the dog-nin.

"Hey Naruto, what are you doing here? This is only a place for people who actually passed the test!" Kiba snarled at the boy, but surprisingly enough, the one who answered him wasn't Naruto, but rather an agitated Nara.

"Could you just shut it Kiba? Are you too blind to see the head-band around his neck, or are you simply a retard?"

Everyone who had listened in stared at the lazy boy, mouth agape and brain malfunctioning. Shikamaru Nara, the proclaimed laziest and most laid-back person to ever exist just up and told another person, Kiba no less, to shut up, and he actually said more than one word.

Breaking out of the spell before the others, Naruto decided that sitting beside the angry sloth may not be such a bad idea.

"So" He began. "What's up with you?" He mumbled.

Shikamaru sighed and put his head on his arms. "Me and my family have trouble sleeping. There's a reason most of my family is lazy, and it comes from our bloodline. If we don't get a minimum amount of sleep, our abilities might run amok. What a drag." He ended, snuggling into his arms a bit more.

Chouji nodded, patting his friends back as he mumbled through his chips. "There there Shika, I bet everything's gonna turn out better soon."

During their little conversation, Ino and Sakura, the self-proclaimed number 1 fan girls of Sasuke had entered the room, yelling profanities at each other which became shriller the longer they spoke.

"Can you girls shut UP!" A voice yelled from the row furthest from the blackboard.

Everyone, including the recently arrived Iruka, stared at the boy with the black sunglasses. Not just Shikamaru, but also Shino was starting to act weird now. What the hell Is happening?

Dismissing the recent development Iruka told the girls to sit down before starting.

"Everyone who is here today, congratulations for passing the academy test! I am sure you are all going to make this village proud, and I am also sure you will all grow into strong ninjas. 'or, at least some of you' Now, Let's begin with the team-placements."

The whole class spaced out basically, only slightly perking up now and then when a name was heard.

"Team 7, lead by the Jounin Hatake Kakashi will consist of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Chouji Akimichi."

An ear-splitting screech went through the classroom after that announcement.

"Team 8, lead by the Jounin Kurenai Yuuhi will consist of Ino Yamanaka, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyuuga."

Two screams of 'Dog-kid with fleas' and 'rabid fan girl' resounded around the room as the raven-haired girl looked down in sadness for not coming in the same team as her love.

Another team was named without any really reacting that badly until the last team was called.

"Team 10, led by the Jounin... This can't be correct" He mumbled to himself as the class perked up.

"Anyway, the team consists of Shino Aburame, Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to take a quick chat with the Hokage." And with that, he rushed out the door, leaving a somewhat confused classroom behind.

It wasn't long before the Jounin began to arrive, and the classroom quickly became less and less occupied. Kurenai, a raven-haired, red-eyed individual had to drag a sobbing Ino out of the building. In the end, only two teams was left: Team 7, and Team 10.

Not a lot of conversation had happened, mostly just Sakura gushing at her precious Sasuke-Kun while everyone else tried to block her voice out, and for some reason, Shikamaru and Shino seemed a bit on edge. Naruto just sat there, lost in his own mind, replaying his last training session over and over, finding parts he might improve.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a very familiar face came in.

"Iruka, you're back!" Naruto said, noticing the slightly different uniform.

Scratching his neck, Iruka nodded before coughing. "Team 10, could you come with me?"

Glancing at each other, the kids followed their teacher to the nearby taijutsu field, leaving the chubby Akimichi, the raving Haruno, and the brooding Uchiha behind.

"Yes... Well, it seems like I am going to be your Jounin Sensei. I was given back my old rank as Jounin which I had before I meet you guys. Anyway, any questions?"

"What is the purpose of this team? The members and the abilities in this team seems... Illogical." Shino asked, straightening his glasses.

"... Infiltration, assassination and information gathering. Shikamaru's abilities will in the future be perfect to infiltrate heavily-secured areas, you Shino will be perfect to gather information as I know your bugs have the abilities to read, and Naruto is actually one of the more stealthy individuals in Konoha, having hidden from Chuunin and Jounin several times after his pranks. That, combined with his newly obtained Kenjutsu skills that will improve, makes him a great potential Assassin." He said, not bothering to sugarcoat what this team was supposed to do in the future.

Shikamaru and Shino shared an uneasy look while a chilling laughter went through Naruto's mind.

"But then again, you still have one more test before you are official genin." Iruka said, somewhat ruining the tense mood. "Meet me at training ground 10 in about an hour. Bring everything you may think you need for any situation." And with a poof, Iruka had left.

Shino turned around, about to address his blonde team-mate before he noticed that he was already gone, barely a small speck in the horizon.

"Shikamaru. We need to be careful around Naruto. My bugs... They are uneasy whenever he is close. The worst part is, they don't know why he makes them uneasy." Shino said, his monotone voice actually a bit scared.

"I know, he makes me uneasy too." Shikamaru said, walking away while muttering "What a drag."

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Sitting cross-legged on the ground of training ground 10, Iruka sighed at the recent development. He really didn't want to take his position back. He loved teaching, but he had always been a more theoretical person than a practical person. Shino and Shikamaru would easily pick up what he said, but he was unsure about Naruto. Naruto had always been a very practical person, so Iruka was a bit unsure how to be a good teacher for him.

Speaking of the blonde, a short individual with a somewhat familiar black cloak was seen walking into the same ground as Iruka, a sword which was almost taller than the person on his back.

"Hey Iruka Sensei." Came from within the hood, a a familiar whiskered face somewhat concealed from view. Iruka noted that it was an unusually dark shadow that the hood cast over Naruto's face.

"Hey Naruto, what's with the cloak?" Iruka asked, watching the boy shift on his feet a bit.

"Ehh, I just think that the sun has become damn bright for some reason. Plus, you can't deny I look kinda awesome in this cloak!" Naruto ended in a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Iruka sighed. 'Well, I can't really force him to stay the same person after that experience in the woods. Except for the cloak, he seems to be taking it well... I'll have to keep an eye on him though. Naruto has always been good at hiding his true feelings and motives.'

He was brought out from his thoughts when he felt a tugging notion at his arm.

"You never told me you was a Jounin. Why did you teach at the academy if you was a Jounin?"

"I've always loved teaching." Iruka said, smiling. "It was my choice really. Before I became a teacher, I was part of the hunter-nin division. I wasn't the best, but I was still fairly good. My experience there helped me deduce what happened when... When Mizuki attacked you." Iruka frowned when he said that, remembering the shaken boy and the decapitated man.

'Something doesn't feel right about that scene.' Iruka mused, watching Naruto do some basic moves with a dagger after having his curiosity sated. 'If I am correct, Mizuki might have been dead for maybe half an hour before I came, yet his body was already stiff and tense, something that usually doesn't happen before three or four hours... What could have made Mizuki react like he did? He must obviously have been scared shit-less by something, but what? It can't be the Kyuubi, everyone within a miles radius would have felt its chakra, and I know Naruto has no skill in genjutsu at all, nor is he able to manifest his ki yet, so it can't really be Naruto. Did he get help?'

This continued for the next 25 minutes, Naruto training with his dagger while Iruka was lost in his own mind, replaying the scene over and over again in his head.

He was broken from his somewhat depressing thought process when he noticed Shikamaru and Shino walk towards him.

'I'll have to take another look in the forest, maybe scourge the area surrounding the clearing for some other tracks.'

"I see you're all here." Iruka announced, getting the attention of Naruto as he walked towards them.

"Now, as I said before, this is the final test to make you all official genins. Since our squad has a specific purpose, I will make it somewhat interesting. This squad's main job is, in the end, assassinations, so I want you three to make a scenario where I will be caught quickly, silently and efficiently with limited or no chance of escaping. Of course, just coming up with a scenario is to easy, so you will have to try and catch me. Any questions?"

The three graduates glanced at each other before ultimately shaking their head.

Satisfied with the answer, Iruka shunshin'd away, leaving behind a note.

Taking the initiative, Naruto picked up the note and read out loud what was written on it.

"As a squad that is basically going to be like a mix of ANBU and hunter-nins, you have to learn patience, stealth, tracking, tactics and how to make a plan on a moments notice. You have until the sun rises tomorrow to catch me. I will only reveal that I have not left the walls of Konoha, so I can be hidden everywhere, but I will not have henged. This is a great test when it comes to your current tracking skills, and will show your future potential.

Just a quick note: I will fight back, so don't expect it to be over even if you find me. -Iruka"

Naruto looked up from the paper, noticing Shikamaru in a strange pose, his brow furrowed in concentration. Shino on the other hand just looked into space, seeming distracted by something.

"Something the matter Shino?" Naruto asked, snapping the bug-ninja out of his trance.

"No, I'm fine. Shikamaru, got any plans?" Shino asked, his voice wavering a bit at the start before settling into his normal monotone.

It took a moment before they got an answer, Shikamaru standing up before he spoke. "Does anyone know where his apartment is? The first step to check should always be at the targets home if you know where it is. Devising a strategy about how to catch Iruka seems somewhat pointless until we actually know where he is and what kind of environment we will fight him in." He said, looking at the other two.

"I have been there before." Naruto said, making the other two raise an eye-brow. "Long story short, I haven't always been healthy." Naruto ended, not interested in explaining anything.

And with that, they began their quest, Naruto leading the way while his two team-mates following just a bit to far away for it to be normal.

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An hour had gone by, and Iruka finally found his way back to the clearing. He never had the best memory when it came to locations.

"Thank god that the ANBU didn't leave any new marks or tracks in the ground or surrounding area. Being an elite seems to have it's perks." Iruka mumbled to himself as he looked over the clearing from atop a branch. He looked over to where Mizuki lied dead just a week ago and frowned.

"Mizuki... *Sigh*"

Getting his head in hunter-nin mode, he began to trail the events.

"Naruto came from west, but he seems to have taken a random path to get here... He walked over here..." Iruka took fifteen steps forward. "Before stopping here... He sat here, putting the scroll down on the ground..." He noticed that there were some ashes right beside where Naruto sat. "The scroll burned up after Naruto got the items... And then Mizuki attacked from behind, throwing one of his shurikens... Naruto sat with his back towards the tree, giving Mizuki a great chance to attack, yet Naruto managed to dodge... Did Mizuki brag before attacking? No, it doesn't fit him. Me may belittle someone, but that's usually after attacking."

He traced to where Naruto landed, and noted the distance between Naruto's new position and Mizuki's position was about 45-50 feet. "Mizuki attacked again, but Naruto managed to deflect the shuriken back somehow..." He noticed the hole in the tree where the shuriken Naruto deflected hit. "Mizuki ran forward and kicked Naruto... He hit the tree, landing on the ground, and then... Naruto... Walks forwards... Mizuki seems to have collapsed at this point for some reason... And Naruto cut of his head... He seems to have broken down here..." Iruka sighed, no closer to an answer than before.

"At least I know that Mizuki must have started the fight, and that he collapsed at the last part of the battle. Did Naruto manage to swipe at him when Mizuki kicked him, giving him a crippling wound? No, I don't remember seeing any other wounds on him... Surveying the trees have given me nothing, and there is no other footsteps here, or anywhere close to this clearing that belongs to anyone else than Naruto and Mizuki..."

He continued to trace the area for any signs for the next hour, his frustration growing as it was becoming more and more apparent that coming here was almost fruitless.

He finally stopped when he noticed that It had become darker in the forest, signaling that the sun must have went down.

"And so the night begins... I wonder if they have found my place yet." He mumbled, deciding to mark this place as clean for now.

As he shunshin'd away, his eyes fell on the ashes on the ground, making him wonder if there possibly was something else in the scroll.

He appeared again on top of the Hokage Mountain, A good 500 feet from the edge in a little tent he had set up.

He immediately sensed three chakra signatures slowly closing in on his position. They were still a good distance away, but there was no mistaking the noticeably larger signature that was Naruto's aiming straight at his location.

"It seems like they found me... I wonder if it's Naruto that showed them how to follow basic tracks." He mumbled to himself, grabbing a sandwich from his bag that was just outside the tent.

"The first thing I should teach them is how to conceal their chakra. I don't expect Naruto to master it, but it will at least make him seem like a much lesser threat than what he really is." He said a couple of minutes later after having finished his dinner, the signatures around 150 feet away, having stopped for now.

"They've most likely seen the shine from my camp-fire. I wonder what they'll do first." He mumbled to himself while he waited for them to make the first move.

He noticed the signatures get closer, and suddenly a kunai flew from the forest. He effortlessly grabbed it, looking a bit disappointed through the trees.

"Is that all?" He yelled to them before noticing that he couldn't move. He then noticed the barely visible string attacked to the handle.

The next moment he was swarmed by bugs while a blade was tickling his throat.

"You shouldn't underestimate us Iruka." Naruto said as he smirked. _'Kill him'. _Rang in his head, making his eye twitch a little.

"Not bad," The scarred man said. "This tactic would actually trick a good amount of chuunin, but there is just one problem..." And as he said that, he turned into water and fell to the ground, showing that he was a water-clone.

"I'm not a chuunin." Came from a tree. "I have to say though, playing on my apparent skills and arrogance, making a favorable gamble that I would catch that single kunai was actually pretty clever... But in the end, it failed anyway. Lesson number one: Never expect that you have won until you have your targets head in your hands." He said, watching the three youths bracing themselves. A moment later, he disappeared in front their very eyes.

The silence that ensued didn't help the tense mood the group had.

"Lesson number two: Sensing. Being able to sense, or at least predict where an enemy is, what the enemy might use, where he might strike from and what he might strike first. For instance..." He said, appearing in front of Shikamaru before sending him flying back with a palm-thrust. Naruto attacked him with his sword and Shino went to help his fallen comrade, but Iruka merely dodged lazily around the sword. After a particularly wide swing that left Naruto wide open, he used the same move again, aiming Naruto so he was sent flying towards Shino.

Anticipating this, Shino grabbed Naruto as he flew be, span around, and threw the boy at their teacher, Naruto having somehow managed to sheathe his sword and taken out his dagger.

The first slash missed as Naruto met blades with Iruka. The Jounin jumped back, seeing Shikamaru's shadow try to grab him while at the same time dodging a kunai sent his way from his blond student. With another flurry of speed, Iruka ran at Naruto, and with an easy move, disarmed him and threw him at Shino again, this time hitting the bug-boy, sending them both to the ground.

"This cloak's just in the way!" Naruto grounded out through gritted teeth, throwing the robe of him before unsheathing his sword again, running at Iruka while being accompanied by Shino's bugs. Naruto dodged out of the way from a water-bullet sent from their teacher, but noticed a chunk of Shino's bugs drop to the ground.

"God-DAMMIT!" Naruto yelled, pouring chakra into his sword as he slashed at Iruka. The scarred man wisely dodged out of the way, seeing a wave of chakra exit the boys blade and cutting a tree in two, sending it tumbling to the ground. Not letting up in his charge, Naruto continued to swipe at his teacher, leaving gashes at the surrounding fauna as Iruka easily dodged away from Naruto's predictable attacks.

With a last swing Iruka jumped up to one of the undamaged trees, noticing the panting form of Naruto leaning a bit on his blade.

"You're definitely better at fighting without that cloak Naruto, ever considered turning parts of it into a simple hood instead?" He said, jumping to another tree as to not be caught by another one of Shikamaru's shadows.

"Not really, but I'll think I do it tomorrow. It'll be easier to move at least, that's for sure." Naruto said, being joined by a sweating Nara and a stoic Aburame.

Seeing the exhausted forms of his students, Iruka came to a quick conclusion. With a single hand-sign he grabbed the tree, sent some chakra through it too the earth, and trapped his students legs in a simple, yet very effective earth-jutsu.

"Alright, I think I'll say this test is over." He said, staring down at his students. "I must say, you three did a great job, and Naruto, you've really improved. If you and Sasuke ever meet in a fight, I'd bet on you." Iruka said with a smile, earning the same reaction from his student.

"But in the end," He said, dampening the mood. "You didn't catch me, did you?" He said, before noticing something weird. If he didn't know better, he would think that Shino was... Smiling...

"Well... Shit." He said a moment later, noticing once again that he couldn't move. The Shikamaru that stood at Naruto's side turned into really familiar bugs, flying up and attaching to Iruka as Naruto landed beside him with the sword at his throat, and the once-again acquired dagger at his neck.

"Check mate." He heard from behind him, feeling a smirk from the lazy genius.

"Check mate indeed." Iruka said, regaining function to his limbs as the shadow retreated.

'_Coat your blade with his blood, feel it slither down your hands, let it enter the soil beneath your feet.'_

Naruto's hand trembled for a moment, his ocean-blue eyes for a quick moment turning into a much darker hue. He shook his head and sheathed his blades, his eyes once again their natural color as he jumped down with his teacher.

"Well, what do I have to say? I'm proud to say that you pass! I will take a quick guess though and say that Shikamaru made the plan, am I right?" He said smirking.

"You're half-right sensei." Said the Lazy teen. "I did come up with the general plan, but it was actually Naruto that came up with the place-switching. To be honest, I don't think our plan would have worked without the clone. We knew you would attack me first, me being the smartest and with the only restricting move, therefore making me the greatest threat in the long run. We actually gambled that you would throw Naruto at Shino, which gave us the chance to switch me with a clone when Naruto kept you busy."

Iruka smiled, satisfied. "You three together are definitely enough to take a chuunin down easily, which was one of my two requirements. The other one was at least tolerable teamwork, and you have shown that in abundance. Team 10, meet me at Training ground 10 in two days. You will have tomorrow to recuperate and finding any last-second equipment you might need. Now, I would like to stay, but I have a report I must give the Hokage. See ya." And with that, he shunshin'd away, leaving the three ecstatic genins behind.

"Can't wait to start really working with you guys." Naruto said, awkwardly extending a hand. Shino looked at it for a moment before turning around, beginning the trek down the mountain.

"Yeah, at least you aren't as loud as you used to be." Shikamaru muttered as he yawned, striding behind Shino.

_'Strike them down.'_

Naruto shook his head as he was left alone. Naruto made no lies about knowing what was inside of his head. He knew exactly who, or what that man was. The Witch-King of Angmar, the mightiest of the long deceased Nazgul. Naruto shuddered a bit as he remembered how the corpse of a man looked. He knew the mans aura was influencing him, but the part that made him a bit worried was that he was beginning to like it.

He had managed to suppress the feeling for the most part around others, but the mans dark aura still spilled from him. The strange part was that it didn't seem to affect everybody, just selected people around him. He didn't know why, and the wandering corpse in his head rarely talked at all, so no answers there.

As Naruto picked up the cloak he had left behind, something else entirely went on in his head. Angmar was seen slowly wandering around in ankle-deep water. Around him were rusted metallic walls, and above him some pipes.

At first glance one would think he was wandering around aimlessly, but it quickly became apparent that his directions had a purpose.

It didn't take long for him to reach his goal.

The corridor widened to a gigantic room, and in the middle was a gate, each and every metallic pole wider than he was, and in the middle was a seal.

He stopped a small distance from the gate and merely stared at it. A silence ensued as the water stopped moving, and the moment there was no more ripples, he screamed a horrifying scream. The scream that made the Nazgul the most feared warriors in history, being able to inflict pure terror on their victims just with a sound.

Behind the gate, movement was seen, then a massive red-slitted eye opened before it shrank slightly.

"**It can't be possible." **Kyuubi muttered, shrinking back in fear.

"_So we meet again Balrog, you pathetic being." _And with that greeting he walked through the gates, roars of despair emanating from the massive fox.


	3. The black knight

**And here is chapter 3!... Okay, absolutely nothing is different. DON'T LOOK AT ME WITH THOSE JUDGEMENTAL EYES! *Cries in a corner***

**LET'S START!**

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Shikamaru couldn't help but sigh as he went to bed that night. Being a ninja was just as tiresome as he had envisioned, but it was even harder for his team who was being trained for possibly the hardest missions. Him being lazy certainly didn't help.

He couldn't really complain about Iruka. Iruka was taking his task much more seriously it seemed like than he did his Academy job. Then again, it might just have been so that the academy was more stress-inducing, but that was something he really didn't want to find out.

Iruka was certainly braver than Shikamaru thought. Not long ago he had come home to the lazy family and basically demanded that Shikamaru was taught some more of his clans techniques, but what shocked the lazy genius was that his father didn't outright refuse, but actually considered it before conceding and admitting he had been slacking off as a teacher! Shikamaru wasn't happy, but he could somewhat begrudgingly see their point. Despite everything, Shikamaru didn't want to become the weakest link, his laziness be damned.

He sighed again before he closed his eyes, letting the dreamworld take him.

It was his usual dream. A wast, empty meadow in an equally wast forest, grass sticking up from the ground with the occasional deer wandering around. The clouds above him wandering by as he stared up at the, from his lying position at the ground. The perfect dream in his opinion, with not a single care in the world. He might not get as much sleep anymore, but his dreams was still the same at least.

Time went by in the dream, the clouds slowly drifting by lazily as the deers grazed around him. He even began dozing off in the dream. He would have dozed off too if it was not for a small detail.

The sun was setting, something that never happened in his dreams. At night it was much harder for him to cloud-gaze, so it was usually daytime during his dreams, but now, the sun was settling, and it was becoming darker uneasily fast.

Then, from deep inside the wast canopy, a light emerged. He sat up, peering inside the forest as he wondered what that was. It slowly became apparent what it was, and it scared him deeply. The light slowly expanded, and in it's wake, only death was left.

Shikamaru quickly scurried to the top of a tree and peered towards the horizon where the fire originated from. What he saw left him shocked.

He knew that place. He knew that village, maybe a bit to well. The mountain with the faces was destroyed, one of the heads having rolled over the academy, destroying it completely. The rest of the village was in even worse condition, houses having been destroyed in the fire, corpses lying on the ground, and even most of the wall that protected the village was destroyed.

He didn't notice it, but the fire had passed him, destroying the tree he stood on which sent him tumbling into the ground. Slowly, almost mechanically he stood up before walking towards his home. The slow walk turned into a brisk jog, which in turn changed into a mad dash.

He soon entered the village, and quickly found his clans home. Nothing was left, only a bit of burned wood and planks was left, and a hand stuck up from the destroyed building. Despite it being heavily burned, Shikamaru could easily identify it.

"No... Nononononono." He muttered frantically as he speed towards it, digging through the ashes. He quickly took a step back and swallowed his bile as he stared upon the horribly burned face of his father.

Tears began running down his face as he shivered, slowly crumbling down as he hugged his knees. The reality of what he was seeing slowly settling in. Then something important sprung to his mind.

"CHOUJI!" He screamed, bolting to where his heavy friend was living.

He wasn't even halfway there before he stopped dead in his track. There, right in front of him was a cloaked individual crouched on the ground, his or her hands hidden inside the sleeves, but it looked like it was praying. The cloak looked oddly familiar, but in his current state of mind he couldn't put the pieces together.

"H-Hey." He said, closing in on the person. Whether it was a man or lady was hard to tell, but whoever it was didn't react to the call.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he put his hand on the person's shoulders. Then, faster than he could react, the person turned around and stabbed him in the chest with a strangely familiar silver dagger. Then, before his vision darkened, he saw the whiskered face of his team-mate grin at him, a smile darker than he had ever seen before, and it shocked him to his very core.

Shikamaru bolted up from his bed, panting as he shook from the nightmare. He put his head in his hands as he breathed deeply, the dream constantly repeating itself in his mind. He slowly clenched his fist, anger building inside him.

"Damn you Naruto." He muttered, punching the wall.

"I know this is your fault somehow. I don't know how, but I just know it's your doing." He said as he glared at the wall, the boys grin etched in his mind.

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"Team 10 reporting for duty Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, AKA The professor, AKA the Third Hokage looked about the four individuals before him.

Iruka stood at the front, a small bit of pride emanating from the man as he stared upon the wrinkled old man. Shikamaru Nara stood behind him to the left, looking tired as usual, but strangely enough sending a glare now and again to his left. To Iruka's right was Shino Aburame, standing just as stoically as was expected of an Aburame, but was he frowning somewhat? At last, directly behind Iruka stood Naruto Uzumaki, his unofficial second grandson, and a boy he hadn't seen in over a month.

He was glad he was smoking when he came in, for the changes Naruto had went through somewhat shocked him.

Hiruzen knew about the darker orange clothing the boy bought, but once again the clothes had darkened. The orange was now nearing the territory of dark-brown, and his sandals had been changed for some simple, but efficient shoes. His once hood-less jacket now had a hood with a color so dark that it seemed to dim the light of anything around it, and the face of the whiskered boy was unnaturally shaded by the shadow, making it hard even for him to spot anything, but he could still see a small smirk, he just didn't know if it was an arrogant or happy smirk.

They had accepted missions before, Hiruzen knew that, but he usually came to the mission office at noon while the team in front of him took missions at the morning. For once he had decided to come down early, If only to check up on how the blond boy did.

He took the pipe out of his mouth as he blew out some smoke.

"Ahh, Team 10. What kind of mission do you want today?" He said as he put the pipe in his mouth again.

"We would like a C-rank mission, preferably an easy assassination target Lord Hokage."

He almost choked on the pipe when he heard that, and he could swear he heard a snigger from one of the boys.

"A C-rank already? Iruka, are you crazy?!" He said, staring hard at the Jounin before him.

"I know they are ready Lord Hokage, and I think it's time they learn how a REAL assassination works." He said, meeting the gaze of the old man without flinching.

"Plus," He said, smirking." They have me after all just in case everything goes to hell."

He sat back at his surprisingly uncomfortable chair as he slowly took a drag from his pipe. A moment later, his hand went over to the D-rank pile before stopping. With a deep sigh his hand slowly went over to another pile before retrieving a scroll from it.

"Fine, you win. Your mission is bordering on B-rank, but I trust Iruka's judgment about your skills, and I trust he will keep you safe in case everything goes wrong. You are to hunt down and kill a mysterious warrior. Basically nothing is known about this man except for his attire. He is wearing full armor, not used since the ancient times with the primary colors being black and blue. He was also seen carrying a giant sword. The reports are a bit unreliable, but he is supposedly at least seven feet tall."

The old man lent back in his chair, taking a drag from his pipe. "He was last seen in crater city where he butchered several people before fleeing towards the west. I have talked to River, rain and wind country, and you are allowed to follow him into those countries if he crosses the border. This is your mission, kill this person, and bring his body back here. You have as much time as you need, but report back if he crosses over to an unannounced country."

"Thank you Lord Hokage." Iruka said as he bowed before leaving the office with his students in tow.

"Naruto, may I have a talk with you?" Asked the withered old man, making the boy stop at the door.

"Sorry old man, but we have to talk after the mission." Naruto said, barely turning around before exiting, leaving a sighing old man.

'I must say, I definitely miss the old days where he constantly came here.' He mused to himself before he took another drag from his pipe.

"Okay, everyone got their scrolls with their equipment with them?" Iruka asked directly outside the academy, receiving a quick nod from his students.

"Good, then we will leave immediately. Our first destination is Crater City. If we are lucky he might have left a trail behind, which is extremely likely since he is wearing heavy armor. All right, let's go."

"How far is it?" Shino asked as they speed through the gates, throwing the mission scroll at the guards, signaling that they was on a mission.

"It's a pretty decent distance from the village, but if we can keep at this pace with only one stop along the way, we will be there about an hour or so before the sun sets. As the name implies, the city is inside a crater, making it easier to defend than most villages, but it's extremely susceptible to flooding obviously enough."

Not much else was said during the trip. The scenery changed only minimally, going from a dense forest to a somewhat more sparse forest, which really didn't make the trip any more eventful sadly enough.

It was actually so silent that Iruka had to glance behind him several times just to make sure his students was still following him, which is when he glanced upon Naruto.

'He really didn't take it well.' He thought to himself, letting out a sigh. Iruka had hoped during this last month that Naruto would open up again, and be somewhat more cheerful, but instead it seemed like he had fallen even deeper into this new, stoic nature of his.

What he couldn't be prouder about though was his physical process. He still didn't have a chance against Iruka, but he was definitely the strongest genin on the team. It was something to be expected though. Naruto's enormous chakra pool made Shino's chakra-draining bugs basically useless, and Naruto was actually pretty good at Melee fighting even in the academy, and it had only became better.

Shikamaru actually had it even worse than Shino. While Naruto couldn't cancel out the shadow, he had barely enough strength when using his chakra to resist the influence, so it was a stalemate until Shikamaru either cancelled the technique, or ran out of chakra. Due to his lazy nature, he was actually weaker than his two team-mates, and since Shino's bugs could act independently, his shadow was useless due to loss of chakra. He had to get in touch with Gai. Despite the mans somewhat eccentric nature, he was the world's best martial artist for a reason. He knew at least something about every style, and he could help Shikamaru find something fitting while giving a good schedule.

He was a tiny bit concerned for Naruto's mental state though. He was simply so... Cold nowadays. He had followed Naruto a few times as he went home. Everything was sadly enough as normal. People glaring at the blonde. What happened later confused him every time. Slowly but surely their looks of hatred became almost scared. They scoot away from him, and if Iruka didn't know better, he would think that Naruto was almost giggling at them.

'Why haven't I talked to him yet? What is holding me back?' Iruka asked himself. Deep down though, he knew the answer.

He didn't want to face the reality that Naruto had changed.

The break, just as the trip, was uneventful. Iruka's prophecy came true as they came upon the the gigantic depression.

"Crater city is known for it's festivals. If we manage to finish this mission early we might take a day or two here." Iruka said before speeding down the side of the crater, the students following close behind.

"In case you are wondering: No, we will not take a break and rest at a hotel. A hunter has to be used to minimal amount of sleep during official missions. Now, let's split up. Ask around about the man and see if you find a trail. We will meet at the center of the town in an hour."

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"So this is the place, eh?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, this... This is where it h-happened." The woman said, a tormented look on her face.

"Hmm." Naruto went forward, looking through the place. It was at the edge of town, away from the main street that went through the village. As he looked over the place, he noticed it was quite easy to tell where people had been killed.

"Exactly where did he go?" Shikamaru asked, leaning down as he examined one of the deep gashed in the ground caused by the swordsman's weapon.

"He went west, but he seemed to go towards an old abandoned mine. His path just seemed too... Well, too determined." A man chimed in, holding the woman as she cried at his shoulder.

"What is this stuff?" Naruto mumbled as Shino closed in on him. Some kind of dark blue-ish sludge was scattered around the area.

"I don't know, but it's not poisonous, my bugs has already sampled it." Shino said, watching as Naruto dipped his finger in it.

"Neither hot or cold, yet it feels like water but acts like gel... Blergh! Tastes like shit too!" Naruto said, wiping the substance off at his clothes.

"Shino, can you get Iruka and tell him that we might know where he went? I know you have a bug on him." Naruto said, turning to Shino as he rose. With a nod the large-coated teen ran off towards a different part of town, noticing something along with his peers.

"Do you feel it?" Naruto said, looking around the place.

"Yeah, there's something in the air, something... Unsettling." The lazy nin answered, sitting on the ground as he played around with the goo.

Noticing that the sun just passed the edge of the crater, Naruto put down his hood as he turned towards Shikamaru.

"It's terror. They are deathly afraid that it will happen again. They are afraid of us too, since they most likely associate this man with a ninja due to his abilities."

His eyes narrowing, Shikamaru faced the whiskered blonde. "You know an awful lot about it I must say." He egged, once again feeling the anger he somehow ha acquired for the blonde rise in him.

"Ehh, felt it myself a few times, and seen it a lot more than one would think."

"Oh really, why?"

Naruto smirked, walking closer to Shikamaru.

"Alright, you wanna know it?" He asked, leaning close to Shikamaru. "Then you gotta earn it." He said, his smirk widening as he saw Shikamaru bristle. He caught the fist that was aimed at his face and sent his own fist smashing into the furious geniuses face, sending him flat to his back.

A grunt escaped his lips as Naruto stomped on his chest.

"What the fuck is wrong with you lately? What has gotten you so fucking angry at me, ehh?" He barked, grinding his teeth as Shikamaru averted his eyes.

Nothing happened the next few seconds, and Naruto was somewhat disappointed that Angmar didn't make one of his usual comments, but a moment later Iruka appeared with Shino right behind.

"What the heck's happening here?" Iruka said, watching Naruto take his foot of Shikamaru.

"What does it look like? Of course we are arguing." Naruto said, sneering at the rising body in front of him.

"We don't have time for your petty disputes right now, we have to track this swordsman down! The mine he is supposedly going to is a bit from town, and had been abandoned for years."

"May I ask why?" The bug-boy asked.

"There simply enough wasn't enough metals and minerals down there to make it worth it. It's a pretty narrow cave, so this man should have trouble swinging his sword in a lot of places there. Now get your act together and follow me." Iruka yelled as he ran away from the town.

Running after Iruka, Shino kept an eye on his two companions. For once it wasn't Naruto that made him nervous, but rather his quite ingenious partner. He watched him glare holes through Naruto's head while Naruto summoned his equipment from a scroll, ignoring the angry teen.

Not even 15 minutes later did they come upon the entrance of the mine.

"Shino, scout out the area, will you?" Iruka whispered, watching a few bugs fly past him and enter the mine.

"This guy was easy to trail I must say, leaving all that goo everywhere." Naruto mumbled as he sat casually on a branch, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

Iruka nodded. "Which is why we have to be extra careful. It's a possibility that he led us here... Strange..."

"Hmm?"

"I'm a sensor ninja, which means that I am able to extremely easily track chakra signatures, yet I can't feel anyone else's chakra than ours..."

"He's not in the cave." Shino whispered.

"Where is he then?"

"About 200 yard that way and closing in slowly."

"Okay... Shikamaru, try and slowly inch your shadow at him. If you actually manages to catch him, then you Naruto shall push chakra through Shikamaru so the binding is empowered. Shino, you shall of course cover him in bugs. When he drops, I want you Naruto to end it... Everyone understand?" He got a nod in response, and a wary glance between Shikamaru and Shino, even though Shino's eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses.

The time went by slowly, and shortly they could hear the clinging of the armor he was wearing. Soon after he appeared, and the description matched almost perfectly. A person wearing armor from the olden era, black and blue in color while he dragged a black great-sword behind himself. Easily seven feet tall, and by the looks of it, his left arm was paralyzed by the way it simply hang lifelessly down. His breathing was labored, like he almost couldn't breath, and the way he walked, it looked almost like he was about to fall over any moment.

A few tense seconds passed as he walked under them. A moment later he abruptly stopped, where he also was covered in an insane amount of bugs.

The group smiled as their plan was working perfectly.

...That was until they noticed that he didn't fall over.

"He... He has no chakra." Shino mumbled, pure disbelief in his voice as the others stared at the man in shock. A moment later the man began shaking as a dark purple aura surrounded and swirled around him, making the strain on Shikamaru that much larger as sweat began pouring down his face while he tried to contain the man.

"IRUKA, TAKE HIM DOWN!" Naruto yelled as he did his best to help Shikamaru hold the man still, pouring and stabilizing his chakra the best he could.

Iruka speed down, but right before he managed to plunge his kunai through the mans head the purple aura exploded outwards, sending Iruka flying before he smashed through the tree the genin was standing in.

Jumping down from the tree, the genin prepared themselves against the man.

An inhuman roar emanated from him as he jumped into the air, barely missing Shino as his blade gouged itself into the ground. With another roar he yanked his sword out of the ground, then spun around before hitting Naruto's sword hard enough to send the boy several yards back. His hand hurt after that hit, but he had to dodge out of the way again as the blade was stuck in the tree at the spot his head was a moment ago.

Quicker than anyone could see Iruka ran out of the debris and kicked the armored man hard in the head. The man barely flinched though, and Iruka barely avoided the same fate that had befell the town's people. A moment later he sped towards Shikamaru, trying to skewer him, but failing as Naruto smashed his blade at the top of the mans sword, making it stab the ground right in front of Shikamaru instead.

Once again he roared as he swiped upwards, barely missing the two boys before smashing his sword straight into Naruto's sword, sending him flying as he lost grip on his sword, hearing it shatter as he saw the flat edge of the blade hit the stone wall of the mine. He expected to hear a scream of rage from the being in his head, but once again, nothing, which somewhat disturbed him.

Not going to miss this chance the man once again threw himself forward, once again trying to skewer someone. His attempt this time was foiled by the reason that he found himself unable to move again, the blade mere centimeters from the boys chest.

"NARUTO, NOW!" Shikamaru yelled as he and Shino poured all their chakra through the jutsu, Iruka standing not far away, using a stronger version of the earth technique that he used against his students a month ago.

Not missing his chance he took out his dagger, jumped on the blade and skewered it through one of the small slots in the helmet, piercing the mans brain.

A moment ensued where nothing happened, and then he shook Naruto off. He dropped his blade and grabbed his head, the first human-sounding scream emanating from him as a light covered him. A moment later he disappeared, leaving nothing but ashes where he once stood, and the hilt of Naruto's dagger, the blade somehow destroyed. Even the sword disappeared, which somewhat disappointed Naruto.

With a sigh Iruka stood up from his crouched position and swiped his hand through his hair.

"Definitely a B-rank mission." He mumbled before smiling, happy that everyone in his team survived, albeit barely.

He looked over to Naruto, noticing him frowning at the two hilts in his hands before sighing and storing his broken blades inside his scroll.

"Don't worry Naruto, we'll find new swords for you."

"I hope so, for my main skill is pretty much gone 'til I get a new one."

"Sensei, exactly where did the body go?." Shikamaru asked.

"Some people have a technique or seal ready in case they die, just to ensure that we won't be able to garner any intelligence from them. It is most likely this that happened. Even if it's wrong, he simply enough could not have survived that." Iruka reassured Shikamaru, somewhat soothing the teens nerves

Clapping his hands Iruka got the attention of his students.

"Great job everyone. You got through this situation pretty well all things considered. You now see what happens when everything goes right and wrong at the same time, which is why a diverse mind is essential for being a ninja. Let's go back to Crater Town and tell everyone that their problems are gone. We'll rest at a hotel there and report back to the Hokage tomorrow." He said as they began their rapid trek back to the town.

The trip was silent as everyone was in their own mind. Shikamaru went through the battle in his head, Shino talked to his bugs, and Naruto mourned the loss of his weapons.

Iruka sighed.

'This team is way to quiet.'

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The villagers were happy, If a bit hesitant to celebrate the death of a man. It just seemed a bit controversial too them to celebrate the death of a man when they just lost several people.

The night, just as their travels was uneventful. They left early in the morning without saying goodbye, intent on reporting to the Hokage before the day was over. They used the same route they used to get to Crater, and stopped at the same place. They came upon the massive wall of Konoha, tired and dirty, and ready to take the rest of the day off. After a quick check to see if they were under an illusion they were sent through the gate, and barely five minutes later they were in front of the Hokage.

"Hmm, you have always been one of the fastest persons to write reports Iruka." Sarutobi said as he read the scroll in front of him while he smoked his pipe.

"Thank you lord Hokage."

"Hmm... A mysterious purple aura... But since his arm was paralyzed that seems unlikely... It's sad that the body destroyed itself, but I will congratulate you all for completing a mission that was clearly of higher rank than at first expected. You're dismissed."

"Thank you lord Hokage." Iruka said again as he bowed, leaving the office with his three students.

"Ahh, Naruto. If I may speak with you for a moment."

"With an almost unheard sigh Naruto turned around and faced the old man.

"What's up?"

"What is up is that I haven't talked to you in over a month. Sit down now and tell me how everything's going." He said, smiling as he motioned to the chair beside him.

"Ehh, nothing much has happened. I have trained, done some missions, the villagers are the same cretins that they have always been, the usual." He said, shrugging while standing rooted to his spot in front of the table.

Sarutobi frowned.

"Now Naruto, you must understand that-" "Yeah yeah, they have lost loved ones and blablabla. Let me tell you something; The people in Crater City also lost loved ones, yet they didn't hate the man who murdered their loved ones like the villagers are hating me. Sorry old man, but right now I don't give two shits about the villagers, and I would probably laugh if they all died."

"But you don't know how it is to lose someone Naruto!"

"... You're right, that is because I never had anyone close to me in the first place, and you know what? I somewhat like it. At least I won't act like the sheep that walk the streets."

"You know that is not what I meant Naruto." The Hokage said as he sighed.

"I know, which is why I kinda hate you right now." Naruto said before leaving, the old man unable to muster the will to stop him.

"And yet, I feel that you hate everyone more than you are willing to show." Hiruzen said to himself before lighting his pipe again and taking a drag.

"But I wonder... Was that man a Jinchuuriki, or something else?"

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It was night in Konoha, and Naruto had finally decided that going to bed might not be such a bad idea.

He had been sleeping for a few hours before sensing movement in his apartment. As he opened his eyes, his body became rigid while his breath hitched.

There, in front of him stood none other than the knight he had killed the day before. There was two things that was different though Naruto noticed through his shocked mind. For one, his helmet had a dark streak running down the cheek, emanating from the same area he had stabbed him.

The second thing he noticed was a new creature. Grey in color with a darker stripe across its face, it was taller than Naruto, and with yellow eyes that resembled human eyes somewhat. In its mouth was a scroll, and sticking out of the scroll was a sword.

The man looked down at the wolf and petted its head before pointing towards Naruto. The wolf walked forward as Naruto sat up in his bed, his legs swung to the side.

The wolf lowered its head, and understanding what to do, Naruto grabbed the scroll and sword, noticing that this sword was heavier than his last one.

The wolf walked back to the man, and after another round of petting, they both sank into a dark-purple void, disappearing without a trace.

After re-booting his mind, Naruto looked down at the sword in his hand. It was about the same length as his old sword, but the blade was shorter while the handle was longer. The blade itself was a bit wider than his old sword, and it had a strange blue hue. Through the entire length of the blade was a small line of iron. The handle-guards were shorter, but they curved a bit upwards. The handle was made of iron and leather, and the end was formed like a crystal, yet was made of iron too.

Trying out a few swings, Naruto quickly noticed that he had to get used to the new weight before he could use the sword as effectively as his old sword.

Putting the sword inside the hiding-spot on the floor, Naruto opened the scroll. The scroll was blank except for two square spots. One of them had a strange writing style that he had no idea how to read, and the other was empty.

"Is that... blood?" Naruto asked himself. Deciding to try, he bit his own thumb, and with a quick flash of inspiration, he wrote his own name. This scroll, just like the scroll he found his equipment in began to emanate light, but this time it was a brilliant silver light. After a moment of being blinded he noticed that the scroll was gone, and in its place was a small black crystal with a ring at the tip

"Well... That was interesting."

Quickly walking over to his desk he rummaged through the cupboards before finding a long, thin chain. After intertwining the chain after inching it through the ring, he put it around his neck before going back to bed.

Holding the crystal, his eyes moved over to the spot where the knight and wolf disappeared.

"I wonder... Who are you?"


	4. A plan in the making

**DING DONG, THE WITCH IS DEAD... Okay, I have nothing to talk about.**

**LET'S START!**

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It was night in Konoha, and everyone had gone to sleep... Well, almost everyone, and one man in particular, even if he went to bed, would most likely not manage to sleep.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the man also known as the third Hokage has always been seen as a wise man. Yet, despite this renown, many stupid and cruel decisions was made. The first was that he didn't stop the second Hokage from walking to his death, the second was to let Orochimaru escape, the third was to ignore his now only loyal student, the fourth was to let the information about the Kyuubi leak out, and his latest decision led to the decimation of the Uchiha clan.

In his own mind, what he would do next would probably lead to some devastating conclusions, one way or another.

"Get me Danzo." He called to no one, yet the shadows seemed to shift ever so slightly in the room.

It didn't take long. In contrast to a certain other ninja, Danzo has always been obsessed with being on time.

"What do you want Hiruzen?" He asked in his normal narky tone, his one eye glaring daggers at the old man in front of him.

"Sit down, we have something to discuss." He said seriously, showing Danzo that right now, his petty rivalry was not to be tolerated.

He raised an eyebrow, but followed orders.

"I have nary seen you in such a mood. What is happening?" Despite his spite for the man in front of him, and his intense will to become Hokage, he could not deny that the third has lead the village to prosperity before and after the fourth.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair while he took a drag from his pipe. He slowly blew out the smoke before setting his eyes on Danzo.

"I need information about a certain individual. I know you have someone following him inside this village, so your information is more up to date than my own. I have a feeling you know which person I am talking about."

"Hmm..." The cripple said as he closed his eye. "And what do I get in return?"

"...What about... The only evidence I have, and the only evidence that I need to prove that ROOT still exists, while at the same time able to pin you as the main factor of its resurrection."

"...Agreeable."

Both men reached into their robes, and despite the fact that there was no pockets in there, they both took out a envelope filled with papers.

"It seems like you finally caught on when it comes to his recent... changes, I bet we can call it that."

The third sat back in his chair with a sigh as he opened the envelope, looking at the bunch of papers inside. The picture of the hooded blonde made a frown enter his face.

"Danzo... In the forest, after Naruto had stolen the scroll and before Iruka found him, do you know what happened?"

The bandaged man paused for a moment before shaking his head.

"The boy has always been excellent when it comes to stealth and evasion. My man did not know his location during the theft, nor after it. For once, I am just as lost as you."

"... Danzo... Do you think that I ever have to issue THAT order?"

"... It's strange. Before, when he was weak and useless I would most likely have said no. He might have been useless, but he was still loyal. NOW on the other hand... To be honest, I cannot give you an answer yet. He seems to have somehow annoyed his team-mates, yet he is still fond of his sensei. A brotherly relationship between a student and a sensei often determines if one are loyal or not... That is, of course, if you aren't using my way." He ended with a smirk.

"I denied you back then, and I deny you now... Danzo, if you keep me informed of everything Naruto does, then I will consider sending missions to you and ROOT."

Sarutobi could see his old rival and friend consider this. That Danzo even had to think about it told him just how much his spy was worth to him.

"... It is a deal, but we shall discuss the amount and what missions tomorrow. If I may take my leave?" He asked, rising from his chair after the nod from his leader.

"Danzo." He stopped at the door.

"... If it comes down to it, you and Tenzo will be the ones to stop Naruto."

"Why me?"

"Please, do you really think that I do not know about your little transplants? Now leave, I have to finish up here."

Shocked out of his mind, Danzo just gave a curt nod before he walked out.

'How did he know?'

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"What's this?"

Another month had passed. As the summer slowly made way for autumn, the weather became colder as the leaves on the trees turned yellow. Still, since it was in Fire-country, the temperature was still quite hot, the only major difference being the somewhat shorter days.

All the teams that had initially passed their Jounin's test, Team 7, Team 8 and Team 10 that is, had all matured a bit, though it seemed like Team 7 had matured the most.

At the start of the second week of the last month, Team 7 had been on their first C-rank mission, something that the resident Uchiha had anticipating. They were also the team that latest got a C-rank, so it was somewhat understandable that Sasuke thought they were cuddling him since he is 'The last Uchiha', which, in retrospect, actually held back the entire team.

It was a bit unclear what had happened during that mission, but apparently the client had lied, and it was quickly surmised that it was a B-rank, if not a low A-rank mission, befitting a jounin leading a squad of Chuunins.

They had met a man named Momochi Zabuza, a man who apparently was bordering on being a S-rank ninja. He was known as 'The demon of the hidden mist' thanks to a story about him butchering the entire graduation class. The later coup d'etat against the third Mizukage certainly didn't help his reputation.

According to Chouji, Sasuke had meet Zabuza's apprentice, a young androgynous girl named Haku. For some reason, Sasuke took her death pretty hard, for once brooding not like an angsty wannabe-murderer, but like a normal, heart-broken teenager would.

For some reason, after Sakura saw how Sasuke acted towards Haku's death, she had become really quiet, eerily so. Chouji had tried to get Ino to talk to her since, after all, despite their rivalry they are friends. It was no luck though. The pink-haired genin had apparently just ignored her blonde friend

"What? You lost the ability to read Naruto?"

The aforementioned boy couldn't help but smirk at his teacher.

"Wouldn't be much difference now, would it?" Shino asked, gaining a chorus of laughter from his team-mates.

"Chuunin-exams... What a drag. What do you guys say? Wanna flaunt what we can?" Shikamaru asked as he laid on the grass on their training ground.

"That depends. Will you be able to stay awake?"

"Hmm, possibly. Just give me some chocolate and we are set."

Iruka couldn't help but smile. Despite their somewhat rocky start, his pupils seemed to get along greatly. It's strange, but it seemed like almost overnight the team changed. Shikamaru actually looked relaxed for the first time since the team was established. Shino seemed less prone of scowling, (Despite the fact that catching him scowling is kinda hard with his collar) And Naruto, despite the fact that he still hid under his hood seemed less cold.

Here Iruka's smile slipped a little. While he might be less cold, he was still nothing like how he was in the academy. Iruka had finally begun to realize that the bounding ball of eternal energy and happiness was gone, but then again, this Naruto wasn't so bad now, right? Right?

He didn't want to answer that question.

"Oy Iruka, you alright?" Naruto asked, waving his hand in front of his Sensei.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry. I was just gone in my own mind for a moment." He said, sheepishly rubbing his neck as he smiled.

"Oh... Well, we're entering the exams. You have any idea what they're about?"

"Now now, I can't make it easy on you guys by telling you what it's about now, can I? If you want to know, then you have to find out on your own. Anyway, that is really all I had for you today, so I will just give this to the Hokage. See ya later." And with a quick wave, he poof'd away.

"Troublesome. You have any idea how we can get any info on the exams? I just know that my old man won't tell us anything. Gai might, but I doubt it." He said as he rose from his position on the grass.

"I know where to get the info, but god, do I have to do some ass-kissing." Naruto said as he massaged his face which held an annoyed expression.

"You guys just wait here, I'll go and be a 'nice and wonderful' brat." He said as he ran towards the Hokage's office.

It didn't take long before he got there. He saw Iruka walk away from the academy while talking to a black-haired woman which seemed to be dressed in somewhat glorified toilet paper.

"Man, and people say I had bad taste in clothes." He muttered as he walked along the corridors.

He stood in front of the door, and after a resigned sigh, he knocked on the door.

'Well, people say I'm a good actor. Let's see how good I really am.' He thought, lowering his hood as he entered the office.

"Ohh, Naruto... Hello." The Hokage said as he looked at the blonde boy.

"Hey..." The silence between them was probably the most awkward moment Naruto had ever had, if only because he was annoyed he had to do this.

"Look old man, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said, I was just pissed about everything that was going on at the time. I-" The old man raised his hand, signaling that he wanted the boy to be quiet.

"It's okay Naruto. I think that out of everyone, you probably have the biggest right to be angry. Now, was there anything you wanted? You usually doesn't come here for nothing after all."

"Hehe, yeah, there was actually something I was wondering. Do you know what will happen during the Chuunin-exams?"

'Why am I not surprised... I think that, this time, I will play along.'

"There are three parts. A written test, a loyality test, and a physical 1v1 test. I will only say that the first test is about determination, the second is about following orders, and it should be pretty obvious what the third is about."

Naruto smiled, yet felt somewhat disgusted inside.

"Thanks old man, gotta go now."

As the boy opened the door again, the old man noticed something.

"Naruto... Have you been out in the sun enough?"

The boy turned around with a sheepish grin.

"No, not really. I'll try and be out more, but I gotta go now, so bye." And with that, the boy was gone.

'Strange... I feel like I have been tricked, but he looked so sincere... I'm getting to old for this shit.'

Just outside the academy waited his two team-mates.

"So, found out anything?" Shikamaru asked, sitting on a bench while staring lazily at some clouds.

"Yeah, the first test is a written test about determination. Dunno what that mean. The second test is about following orders, and the third is fighting, that's really what I got out of it."

Shikamaru sighed while muttering a low "Troublesome." While Shino simply nodded while listening to one of his bugs.

"Did you actually mean what you said?" The bespectacled boy asked.

"After what he said? Like hell I meant what I said! Right now he can rot for all I care." Naruto said, some of his old coldness seeping through.

"As expected." Shino said, fiddling with his glasses.

"Let's meet at the training ground In an hour, we probably need the last-minute practice. It's only a week until the exams after all." Shikamaru said as he drudged his way towards his house.

"Yeah, probably the smartest." Naruto said as Shino, once again, only gave a nod.

Training was always good, especially now.

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"**Master... There's something here." **The massive fox, formerly known as Kyuubi said.

One would believe that such an enormous creature easily could dispatch all his enemies with just a lazy swipe of his tail, and that is usually the case... This man though, this... Monster in human form...

Kyuubi once went under the name Balrog, and was under the servitude of an evil lord, a man whose power was unmatched, even by the Kyuubi. His form was different at the time, looking somewhat like a demented fire-monster from the pits of hell, not the almost-cuddle worthy, but still extremely dangerous fox he is now.

He was beaten though. Despite his terrifying visage and powerful attacks, he was killed by a man... No, a deity. The being was unnatural, above even life and death. He saw it, the transformation the 'Man' went through. If Kyuubi didn't know better at the time, he would almost think the man was a lich, a being above life and death, whose only method of dispatching would have been to be sealed away in a tomb, forever rooting as it's power was slowly drained.

But no, he was no lich. He was, in fact, almost an angel, which meant that he was just as boring as one.

But Kyuubi, just like the Grey-turned-white robed man didn't die. Sure, his physical body was destroyed, but how can one kill what is made of pure energy? His essence drifted away to limbo, where it stayed until he was forced out, combining together with eight other beings into a monster with the potential to destroy the world. They were sealed away, and later separated into nine being once more.

He had the same form then as he had now, the only difference being the size and age. He meet there a man who he could honestly say that he loved with all his technically unnecessary heart...

But that was in the past, an age long forgotten in the sands of time. Now he was sealed away inside a twat who actually somewhat reminded him of his once loved master... But then 'he' came...

There's a reason Naruto never had any problems with Kyuubi, and that is because of the simple fact that... Naruto reminded Kyuubi of the man he loved... he just couldn't bear to do anything against him.

Nostalgia is a strong emotion.

But this man... This corrupted, evil man is changing everything about the boy, and there is nothing he could do to stop this inhuman being.

"_Show yourself impudent being." _The Witch-king said, rising from the throne of fur, one of Kyuubi's cut-off tails.

He got his wish.

Slowly, tendrils made from the darkest shadow extended from the walls, ceiling and floor, slithering from the darkness of the sewers that was Naruto's mind.

"_Such evil power, yet it feels... How is this power evil, yet not corrupted?"_ The former king of Angmar asked himself, drawing the sword that Naruto managed to break.

A moment of silence ensued as the tendrils enveloped the room, then a beastly roar rang through the room. A moment later, a great-sword was imbedded through Kyuubi's tail at the exact location Angmar stood just a moment earlier.

"_You."_ He said as he watched the sword disappear in a void, being followed by the scraping of metal along the floor.

"_Abysswalker..."_

As he walked through the bars of the Kyuubi's cell, a familiar sight entered the massive space.

"_Angmar... How long has it been... About 4000 years?" _A raspy voice said, emitting from under the tall, armored man's helmet.

"_If I give or take a century I guess I'll be correct... It seems like I'm not the only one who has dabbled in black sorceries, or what do you say brother?"_

Summoning his flail, he took a pose that only one person had ever broken through.

"_You should have stayed in that undead realm weakling. I've slayed you before, and I can easily slay you again Artorias."_

"_Possibly, but then again, who is to say I went all-out against you last time? And do not think I am unknowing about that little spell of yours. I'm nothing more than an empty shell anyway, so technically I am no man anymore."_

Unknowing to Angmar, who had his back turned to the cage, was Kyuubi who was right behind the bars, staring at his so-called master hatefully. Slowly, while the two brothers continued to irk at each others nerves he raised one of his hand-like paws, and faster than even Artorias could see he smashed the Witch-king with all his strength, feeling the burning of the sword that pierced his hand.

"**Wretched being. You're just a human toying with power you can not comprehend. While you have the power to easily destroy me, it doesn't change the fact that your body is that of a human. In other words, you are frail." **The massive fox couldn't help the smirk that formed on his face as he felt the man writhe under his paw.

"_Well that was... Anticlimactic."_

"**What? You expect an epic fight every time something happens? He was stupid, let down his guard around me so he got what he deserved... I will not let this man corrupt this boy anymore."** The massive entity mumbled as a quick glint of light emanated from under his paw, the writhing hand that belonged to the evil person jerked for a moment before turning to ashes.

"**What are you planning now Abysswalker? What has that snake told you which made you appear here? This is simply too convenient." The fox said, fusing his cut-off tail back onto his body.**

"_I simply came here by my own violation. I sensed my brother in the boy, and I took the chance too end his life... But knowing my brother, he is still alive."_

"**That's well and fine, but you didn't answer my questions."**

"_And so it shall remain. So long Balrog, may we meet again in Limbo."_

As the void opened under him, the tendrils that covered the room entered it along with the man. A moment later, one of Kyuubi's tails smashed the area, but nary a moment too late as the man had already closed the hole, leaving but a watery floor.

"**What does he know? What is he not telling me? What has that big-toothed serpent predicted?"**

Kyuubi laid down on the watery floor. He felt drained, the wretched man feeding on his powers. For some reason, the sight of the abysswalker made his power over Kyuubi slip. He was silently thankful over the fact that despite his powers, his body was still human, and a human form the olden age for that sake. The old fox couldn't help but snicker at the fact that even the children of this age was stronger than a lot of adults back then. While it's mostly just the ninja-children who are stronger, they are still children, and he would love to see that old deity that had slain him fight against one of the children from this age.

"**Hmm, I wonder what happened to that man. Rumors in Limbo said something about him traveling to a foreign country together with the elves and that hobbit who had the... ring."**

His eyes widened exponentially as a memory resurfaced. He had seen that ring in recent memory. In fact, he saw the ring barely a month ago.

Why didn't he see what ring that was?

"**Abysswalker... You... You vile creature."**

An anger he hadn't felt in almost a century bubbled inside of him. A hate even stronger than what he held against Angmar, a hate stronger than even the wretched Uchiha managed to bring forth.

"**This was your plan all along wasn't it you slippery snake? Wasn't it you big-toothed worm. I won't let you, I WILL NOT LET YOU REINCARNATE THE DARK LORD! YOU SHALL NOT CORRUPT MY MASTERS SPAWN, YOU HEAR ME! I WILL RATHER DESTROY HIM THAN LET HIM TURN EVIL!"**

Forgetting the seal that trapped him, he released the hold on his powers. A literal wave of impure energy spewed forth from the gigantic creature, an energy so filled with hate that It would decimate an entire city in a moments notice.

That is when the seal acted. Chains spewed out from the ground and bound him while gigantic arcs of wood feel from the ceiling, trapping him as his entire body was bound to the floor, several arcs locking up his arms, legs, and all his tails, while another arc secured his head.

A short silence ensued after this, and the a roar of not just hatred, but of pure anguish and despair came from his mouth.

He had failed his master. He had failed his spawn.

He failed the only being he had ever loved.

"**Please someone, anyone, bring the boy to me. Kami, yami and everyone else, I beg of you... Please, don't corrupt the boy..."**

"**Please..."**


	5. Illusory wall ahead

**AN: This, my lovely readers, is the chapter that deviates from my story 'The Mad King'. The first and last part is where the major changes are, but they basically changed the entire dynamic of the story.**

**The mission with the massacre and bandits still happened, but in this story, it has more of an impact on Shikamaru than Naruto. You will understand it later. Naruto will also NOT be a lunatic, he will be cold, calculative, merciless, and have a very dark sense of humor.**

**That's all for now, so...**

**LET'S START!**

-Scene-

The day had finally come. This was the day that any genin throughout the elemental countries who had any talent has been waiting for.

The chuunin exams has finally started.

"What a drag."

All was not roses and confetti though, and one Shikamaru Nara portrayed that perfectly. Despite the fact that he had never been more fit, he was still the most sore he has ever been at the same time.

"Oh shut it Shikamaru. You're going to enter, no matter if I have to drag you all the way or not."

One Naruto Uzumaki on the other hand was getting quite annoyed at one of his team-mates. During the whole week of training, the lazy genius had done nothing more than moan, complain and muttering that damn phrase of his. One would think that after his first kill he would have become more active, but somehow he had become even lazier!

Either this was his way of coping, or his brain short-circuited after his first taste of blood.

At least he had managed to change his lazy team-mates wardrobe a tiny bit. His clothes was mostly the same, except that his jacket now was longer, covering his entire torso while being of a dark-grey color. Shino had also changed a bit, but it was mostly just a darker trench-coat. Naruto didn't even have to force them, Iruka had basically demanded it, saying that they will be doing a lot more night-time mission later, so a darker wardrobe would be the best.

'Dear god no, It's bad enough with a lazy genius. A lazy retard I WILL kill during this test.' He thought, an evil smirk stretching across his face which, of course, was unseen under his hood.

Shino only sighed as he listened to the two, silently following Naruto as they entered the academy.

For some reason a lot of people had cramped up the corridor at the second floor. Pretty strange, especially since the exams were located on the third floor.

Ascending the stairs, they found themselves on the third floor, and an annoyed Nara sighed.

"Retards, can't even count how many floors they have ascended."

"What'cha mean?"

"Didn't you read the sign? It said third floor while we still were on the second floor. Those idiots can't even see through extremely simple illusions... Maybe this is going to be easier than expected."

"Or it will be harder, since all the better teams just walked straight up." Shino chimed in, puncturing Shikamaru's bubble while Naruto smirked at the prospect.

"You're finally here I see." Iruka said, leaning on the wall just outside where the exams were supposed to be held.

"A good ninja comes neither early nor late, but at the exact time." Shino said, his monotone voice sounding somewhat cool for once.

"True, but a good ninja should also be ready to act no matter the timing." Iruka refuted, earning a nod from the students without hoods.

A silence ensued, and it was quite clear Iruka was nervous about them.

"Iruka, calm down. We'll be fine." Naruto said, somewhat calming Iruka.

"I know, but... Just... Just don't go overboard, okay?"

"No promises." The blonde said too Iruka's increasing dismay.

As the students went past the teacher, Iruka couldn't help but worry. For some reason though, his fears was less towards his own students, and more towards those they will meet.

'I wonder... Did Naruto notice that it was directed towards him?'

Iruka's internal problems were totally lost on the students as the doors closed behind them. A cozy group of over a hundred wannabe chuunins had turned around at the sound of the door opening and was now glaring murderously towards them.

"I expected more." Naruto muttered as he lead the way towards a corner, his team-mates glancing questionably at each other as they heard that.

"He's actually right. That was somewhat tame, even if they're only genin." All Shikamaru got out of that was a silent "hmm" from his high-collared team-mate.

"Something's sucking the intent out of the air... My bugs can't locate the exact source, but there's a strange chakra in the air."

"Shit, just like that man we fought a while ago. Naruto, we've gotta be careful, last time we had Iruka with us, but if someone has similar powers in this exam... We might die."

"You really believe I'm so stupid as to fight an undeniably stronger opponent? I rather like living thank you very much." He had, of course, also felt whatever power that permeated the air, and he couldn't deny that it had a somewhat similar flair to it.

This though, this was something different.

"You guys feel it, don't you? The entire room is filled with killer intent that's stronger than what the entire room manages to manifest. Now, where oh where can the source be..."

"Naruto, even if we manage to find the source and separate it from its team, what guarantee do we have that we are stronger than this person?"

"There are no guarantees that we will survive at all, but that is to be expected... Heh, this kinda reminds me of our last mission. They stood no chance." A cruel smirk was felt from underneath the hood, a small disregard for life noticeable from his tone of voice.

"What do you say, wanna spill some blood today? Come on, just like that time." He directed at Shikamaru, his arm stretched and his hand clenched into a fist.

That sentence seemed to hit something within the boy as he turned his face towards the wall with a pained grimace.

"Killing is not something one should be proud of Naruto. One simply enough can NOT like killing, I mean... How can one like taking someones life?"

"And why shouldn't we? They deserved it, and you know it. Why shouldn't we like killing the scum of the earth that would basically do everything to get their petty pleasure." He leaned closer to the pained genius.

"And don't say you didn't get a slight thrill from it? Your shadows seemed to like it at least." His grin turned into a smirk as Shikamaru opened his eyes to glare at him.

"Not everyone's like you. Not everyone has stopped feeling regret."

"Ohh, I still feel regret, just not towards scum."

A moment later, several columns of smoke appeared at the end of the room, revealing several ninja's. Just in time too as Shikamaru was a moment from trying to murder Naruto, and it also halted Team 8 who almost had gotten to them.

"Pipe down you brats!" A heavily scarred man who looked somewhat like a bear shouted.

"I'm Ibiki, and I'm the proctor of the first exam. Welcome to hell."

-Scene-

"What a useless test, a waste of my time. You guys have any idea what one can do during an hour?"

"For once I agree with you; That test was just... Troublesome."

This was what ran through the mind of basically everyone that had passed the first test. It was a written exam where they didn't have to answer a single question, they only had to sit through it until it ended.

"I mean... Fucking hell, 'You must be ready to sacrifice everything for the mission.' No shit! Any ninja that doesn't know that should be freaking kicked out of the force immediately!"

Being loud is something Naruto rarely was anymore, so hearing him yell like that was shocking for his team-mates... Or it would have been shocking if it wasn't for the fact that they were somewhat pissed themselves and actually agreed with Naruto.

With an annoyed sigh, Naruto turned his head towards Shino. "Are they out?" He whispered as they were closing in on the next location for the next exam.

"Of course." He nodded. "And the supplies are ready." He added, pushing the glasses further up his nose.

"Good. Once we get in you get started, and we will agree on a location to meet at. Remember that no matter what, you HAVE to be at the location within 12 hours."

Shino's bugs had showed themselves to be more useful than expected. They were nigh impossible to spot, and if they didn't feed on the victims chakra, impossible to feel, which made them quite invaluable for scouting and information gathering.

For some reason, despite the fact that Iruka knew about it, he never removed the bug that Shino had planted on him. This proved to be quite useful since they managed to gather some pretty interesting information.

Their next exam would take place in training ground 44, also called The forest of death. (This was confirmed by the second proctor Anko) Apparently they had to get to the middle of the forest where a pretty huge tower stands. The catch was that they had to get two scrolls, a heaven scroll, and an earth scroll.

The only problem was that they didn't know the time-limit of this test, but hopefully that would be answered by the proctor who screamed at everyone to shut the hell up.

"Alright maggots, welcome to the second exam! Now, before we start I have to make you sign this."

"What's that?" Kiba asked, looking as arrogant as ever while Hinata glanced over at Team 10.

'Is that?' The shy girl thought as she stared upon the hooded individual of the team. She hadn't seen her love for almost three months, yet he seemed so different despite the fact that she couldn't see his face.

'He looks so... So prideful, so strong and confident... But why am I so afraid of talking to him? Why do I feel that he is dangerous? Why do I fear him?'

'What the?' Ino thought as she followed the shaking girls line of sight. 'Naruto? But why does she seem so afraid of him?'

"Kiba." Ino whispered at the dog-boy. "I think we should change target. Let's find someone else than Naruto's team."

"What? Why?" He said as he, along with Ino stared at the miss-fit team.

"Because Hinata is scared of Naruto."

"Afraid of... Akamaru, sniff them out!"

"What will that help?" The platinum-blonde asked, staring at the little dog as it barked at it's owner.

"Akamaru has a rare ability even for our clan. With just a single sniff he can gauge the enemy's strength and chakra... And I think you're right for once. Let's keep away from them, there's something weird about not just Naruto, but the entire team, and I really don't wanna know what that is."

While the two of them had whispered at each other, Hinata had signed all of their forms, knowing that her team-mates wouldn't back out, and neither would she.

"Five days to get one scroll? Man, I hoped it would be harder." Shino simply shook his head at the blonde.

"One's wish doesn't always get fulfilled."

"Pretty crude map she had. Could have sworn the forest was larger though." The pineapple-headed one in the team said, hoping to get the test over with as fast as possible so he could sleep.

As they got their scroll, an earth scroll, they quickly agreed that Shikamaru would be the one to bear the scroll. They, just like everyone before and after them was led to their respective gates.

Being bored while waiting does strange things to a persons mind. It usually doesn't end well, and when you philosophize about the eventual death of man-kind, one might have let certain individuals wait a bit too long.

"She's staring at you, you know." An extremely familiar monotone voice said as it broke the silence.

"So I've noticed. I kinda wonder why."

"Hmm. If I had to make a guess, I would say that she adores you." Shino, being one who never cared much for secrecy within the team said, earning a double-take from the hooded blonde.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. That's what I think, nothing else."

"Adores me, ehh?" He muttered, stroking one of his cheeks with a finger as he stared at the petite girl as she walked past with her team, her face turning red as she noticed the hood move with her own movement.

A minute later the proctor from before yelled something the examinees both anticipated and feared.

"THE SECOND EXAM HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN!"

-Scene-

It had barely been 15 minutes, and yet there had been several screams of despair already.

"Man, some people just suck." Naruto muttered as he sat on the ground, watching Shino slowly but surely writing a much more detailed map of the area. Not that he didn't enjoy the screams, it just seemed to early for his tastes.

His team-mate's bugs were truly a wonder sometimes. Resilient to most climatic changes like deserts, rain, snow and more, able to drain a large amount of chakra, being almost impossible to locate, and with an able Aburame (Which Shino thankfully was) they are perfect scouts.

Silence reigned in their little hiding spot as a random bug occasionally returned to Shino, which made him draw the map more and more detailed. Really, if it wasn't for the fact that they could be killed incredibly easily, Naruto would almost have wished he was an Aburame himself.

Just almost though.

"That should be good enough." Shino whispered to no one.

"Okay." He said, raising his voice. "The fence is a perfect circle with a diameter of 20 kilometers. In the middle stands the end-location: The tower. East of the tower, running through the entire forest is a river. There are several caves along the river which my bugs are checking out as we speak. The west-side of the forest has a much denser fauna, but can be considerably safer to rest at since it's away from the water."

"Now Shikamaru, if you would?" He said as he put two other scrolls over the first scroll.

As Shikamaru leaned over the papers he went through a quick series of hand-seals.

"Secret technique: Shadow duplication." He muttered under his breath, barely touching the top-paper with his hands. At first it seemed like it failed, but slowly, the map that Shino had made appeared on the paper.

"You guys should really memorize the map, I am unsure just how long this technique lasts. Shadows are finicky, and are often quite hard to predict."

As Shikamaru stood up after finishing the technique, he felt something cold and sharp pressing against his throat. Looking over at Shino, he could quickly see why.

"Maps, eh? My, this will be useful." The one behind Shikamaru said.

'Mist ninjas.' Shikamaru thought.

"My my, someone from the bloody mist. How exciting." The blonde said, his hood having been pulled back by his captor.

"Kinda sad we have to kill a cutie like yourself blondie, but whatever." His captor said, the teen and her team-mates slitting their throats at the same time.

"Heh, too easy." The one who held Shikamaru muttered.

A moment later, a sword fell on his head, instantly killing him.

"WHAT THE-" Her scream instantly stopped as she felt her body freeze up, invisible hands choking her. As she looked over to her remaining team-mate, all she could see was an enormous amount of what looked like bugs cover something remotely human.

A moment later she felt her neck snap, then she felt nothing.

"Not a bad plan Shikamaru." A familiar voice said a moment later, three figures appearing from the trees.

Something between a grunt and a sigh escaped from him as he stared upon the dead girl.

"Why did it have to be a girl?" He muttered to himself, looking away from her corpse as he instead shifted his gaze towards where the other two was.

"You've become quite good with the earth clones Naruto. I find this somewhat ironic since you had no talent with clones in the academy." Shino said as he picked up the maps, distributing the pieces of papers between them.

"What can I say? Doing the illusion clones are kinda like fitting an ocean through a straw, which is pretty much not possible."

"With enough patience it's possible, but I see your point."

"Nice, a heaven scroll." Naruto said after he rummaged through their victims inventory.

"We should get to the tower as fast as possible, but I have a feeling the direct route is going to be... Tricky. It's apparently quite common during tests like this that a good chunk of the teams basically make a large perimeter around the finishing goal. What a drag." He hated being smart sometimes. Being ignorant almost looks like less troublesome... Almost.

"There really aren't any other path's than straight through though." Naruto muttered as he cleaned the blood from his sword.

"That... May not be entirely true." His surprise was unfathomable by the fact that he didn't hear any snapping necks. Seriously, they turned their heads so fast that he didn't even register it.

"Close to the fence, a small distance from the river is a cave. The bugs that explored the area found nothing of interest until they sensed chakra from a wall, which revealed an illusory wall. There's a tunnel there, leading to some kind of room. Past this room is another tunnel which leads to another cave, and this cave is about 500 meters away from the tower."

"A tunnel... But still, that cave is probably used by at least one team... But then again, if there is an illusion at the other entrance too, then we can use it for a surprise attack." The pineapple-headed genin said, ignoring the smirk from his colder companion.

"We started from one of the southern gates, so it isn't that far. Let's go now, before someone gets to the cave before us."

-scene-

"It seems like we're in luck."

Shikamaru couldn't help but nod at his stoic comrade's words. He really wasn't up for another fight to the death, he had already killed one person that day, he really didn't need anymore blood on his hands right now.

Naruto walked along the wall, his sword unsealed as he dragged the sword along the stony surface. The blade emitted a weak blue color, signaling that he pushed a small (For him) amount of chakra through the blade.

"Are you sure that your bugs didn't make a mistake Shino? I can't sense anything form this cave, and my blade should have been able to break any illusion that covered the wall."

The stoic boy frowned a bit as several bugs crawled along the wall, sampling the rock for any semblance of residue chakra.

"Strange, they have never been mistaken before. I could have sworn that there was an illusion here..."

Naruto frowned under his hood, letting his ministration with the sword stop as his gaze swept across the hollowed out rock they now stood inside.

"I do not doubt that there once was an illusion here, but is it possible that there has been a cave in here that broke the illusion and sealed of the tunnel?"

His only answer was an even larger amount of bugs that covered the wall, his eyes lingering on the single bug that Shino somehow held a conversation with as it stood on the boy's outstretched finger.

Shikamaru had began to rig up some traps at the entrance while he waited for an answer. Better safe than troublesome had become his motto, though rigging up traps was, despite it's necessity, still as troublesome as ever.

"It seems your theory might be correct, but this cave-in is... Suspicious, to say it the least." He walked closer to where his bugs reported the illusion last was noticed. "There is one question here whose answer leads to two different questions. Is this a natural occurrence? If yes, then the question is why now of all times? If no, then who started it?"

The blonde's frown deepened a bit as he followed Shino's finger as it dragged across the surface. Suddenly it stopped, resting on a narrow, unnaturally straight crack.

"Naruto, stab your sword through here and tell me when you meet resistance from the sword-tip."

The blonde hesitated just for a moment before nodding, his sword already in movement as it easily tore through the small crack.

Suddenly, it stopped.

"Approximately three feet in." The blonde grunted as he tore the blade out again, his eyes still following Shino's finger as it lowered, still following the crack. The crack suddenly turned, making a suspiciously sharp edge.

"Do the same above the edge, and one beside. If you meet resistance from the same depth, then it will prove that this was not a natural occurrence."

"Three feet." He grunted as he followed the order. He tore it out again before aligning the blade horizontally, the metal once again tearing through the narrow crack. A moment of silence followed as the blade once again stopped.

"...Three feet... You said that there was a room in the middle of the tunnel, right?" He got a nod from the now thinking Aburame. "I wonder what can be so important down there that someone is willing to destroy one of the only entrances..."

Naruto sealed his sword as he put his left hand on the blockage, his right hand making a seal.

After a moment of concentration he whispered out his technique.

"Earth release: Hiding mole technique."

He stood there for five seconds, then five more seconds went by before he grunted in frustration.

"Whoever did this knows at least an adept amount about seals, most likely much more than me at the moment. The stones repel any chakra that tries to pass through it, making my technique useless right now."

A "Hmm..." was the only answer he got from Shino as Shikamaru came back, having heard what he said.

"Is it possible for you to enter the stone walls that aren't directly connected to the cave-in?" He asked, getting two pair of unseen blinks from his team-mates.

Naruto moved a small distance from the rubble before trying again, his hand moving through the solid surface this time.

He disappeared completely only to appear a minute later, his lower face, the only part that was partially visible showing both surprise and annoyance.

"Whoever this person is, he's both a genius and a retard. He put a seal on the cave-in, the part where most people would try the technique. When that didn't work, most people would give up, not even trying the other parts of the wall. In short, I can enter the tunnel from the side." He reached his two hands out of the wall. "Grab on."

Not wasting a moment, they both latched on to the shorter teen's arms as they, along with Naruto sunk into the wall.

They hadn't been taught the 'Hiding Mole Technique' yet by Iruka since it was originally meant as an assassination technique, so the experience of sliding through solid matter was... strange. It didn't feel like water like they originally anticipated, but at the same time it didn't feel like going through gravel either. The best comparison they could come up with was... Butter. It felt like moving through butter, as strange as that sounded.

Half a minute later, they found themselves standing in a long, somewhat narrow corridor, Naruto panting slightly as he leaned on the wall for support.

"Seems like concentrating on keeping the stone intangible around more than one person takes a lot out of you, despite your somewhat enormous chakra reserves." Shino noted, earning a small nod from the slowly recovering boy.

"That, and it's my first time having to guide anyone else than myself... Definitely harder than expected." He said as he pushed of the wall, steadying himself as he felt his exhaustion leave him.

Shikamaru looked around corridor they now stood in, somehow feeling a bit creeped out by it.

"What is this place anyway?" He asked, troublesome ringing through his head as he watched Naruto lower his hood. No reason having it up when they basically were underground.

"Maybe a last-resort safety room just in case the Hokage Mountain is either destroyed or cut-off?" The somewhat paler boy said as he ran a hand along the wall, trepidation growing inside him as they slowly walked along the path.

"Unlikely, seeing the location of the outer entrance. Hiding a secret refuge in this forest, possibly the deadliest forest in the world seems somewhat contradictory." Shino mumbled as he crossed his arms, trying to wave of the growing tension that enveloped the group.

"There's something in the air... It feels... Dead, decaying almost... I've never felt something like this before." Naruto whispered as he summoned his blade once again, ready for anything as he placed the blade on his right shoulder.

The other two nodded as an almost incomprehensible "Troublesome" left the shadow-user. Why did they always get into the creepiest and bloodiest situations? He blamed Naruto. Why one might ask, but there was no particular reason. It didn't really help that trouble always seemed to follow the blonde boy.

That nothing happened only served to heighten the jittery feeling that ran through them, and it wasn't long before they stood in front of a door, the construct obviously there to separate the room from the two corridors.

"What happened behind this door?" Naruto whispered as he ran a shaking hand across the wooden surface of the door. "What could create such a... Such a miasma of death and disease... This is beginning to feel more like a morgue or a tomb than anything else."

He turned his head, watching his team-mates, trying to reduce the terrible feeling in his gut.

"Shikamaru." He called out, snapping the boy out of his daydream... Or was that possibly a day-nightmare? He couldn't really blame the sweating and shaking teen though.

Shikamaru had actually hit the nail pretty accurately when he said that Naruto didn't feel remorse anymore. He wouldn't go as far as to say he liked killing those bandits on their last mission, but there was a certain enjoyment he got out of their despair-filled faces. He couldn't help but savour the terror at the time.

Shikamaru though was somewhat of an enigma. While he physically showed that he disliked killing, his shadow told a different story. It jumped from bandit to bandit, almost like some sort of elegant dance. Was there possibly something more to the Nara clan's shadows?

A nod from the Nara and Aburame signaled that he should proceed. With a sigh he grabbed the door-handle, only one thought running through his head as he turned it.

'To not feel regret do not equal not feeling fear.'


	6. Preliminary trouble

**AN: Someone sent me a message, asking me why Naruto isn't colder. The answer is two-fold. 1: If Naruto was instantly cold and merciless towards everyone around him, then he would be executed for being a danger to everyone around him. 2: Who the heck told you that what you have read so far is the real Naruto?**

**Huh, for once I actually made this AN before I wrote the chapter... Oh well.**

**LET'S START!**

~Scene~

Five days had passed, and with that came the end of the second exam. Team 10's arrival at the tower had been fairly uneventful, no teams attempting an ambush, nor was there any teams at the other entrance of the tunnel.

Unsurprisingly, Iruka had been the one to meet them after they managed to enter the tower and decipher the words on the wall. It took Shikamaru about three seconds to figure out the meaning, and he simply told Naruto to open the troublesome scrolls. Seems like the two scrolls together formed a sort of summoning seal, something which interested Naruto immensely.

Shino had only asked him once before, and he could most likely still not answer that question. Exactly why was he so fascinated by seals? His best bet would be Kyuubi, or rather, the seal that held the being back. He had taken a look at the intricate masterpiece barely three days before the Chuunin-exams begun, and he couldn't even begin to decipher anything.

His initial goal was simply to make a storage-seal on his arm so he didn't have to carry his sword everywhere, the mere size of it being somewhat inconvenient. Of course, he got a new sword since that time, but since his new sword was not just broader, but also a lot heavier, it only made it somewhat more important for him to learn how to make a simple storage array.

After that, he was hooked. Simply by making a simple storage-seal. Altering reality, dimensional transportation and expansion of mass. All of that in one of the simplest seals known to man. The storage-seal was actually pretty dangerous in itself, something that Naruto had personal experience with, and it was not because of the furry fox known as Kyuubi.

It was an interesting feeling, having your hand torn off as a malfunctioning seal took more than the intended item. He expected it to resemble something like extreme agony, something which might break even a strong individuals mind. Personally, he felt rather detached from the whole situation, like he was outside of his own body, watching the events unfold in front of him. Oh, the pain was there, his mind just didn't register it. He remembered a dull burning, but the actual feeling, if his mind was all there, would most likely resemble something closer to the aforementioned agony.

Thankfully enough, the seal was not a total catastrophe. The catalyst was at least intact, so was the dimensional transporter, so he managed to summon back his dismembered right hand. Of course, he had to go to the hospital to have it sewn on again. They also attached the most crucial nerve-clusters and blood veins, but it still took almost two weeks, even with Kyuubi's abnormal healing, for him to regain full mobility with his hand. Then again, having gained some basic swordsmanship skills with his left arm somewhat made up for it, so he wasn't entirely defenseless if he actually lost his right arm.

Not that he planned on losing his arm. He really liked his arm, and it was going to stay attached to his body damn it!

After his hand was torn of, he had begun to wonder about just WHERE this alternate dimension was. Despite the power that a masterfully crafted seal could hold, it still didn't have the power to create a new dimension, but rather borrow bits and pieces of it. He couldn't deny that he was somewhat intrigued about the fact that dimensional transportation was possible for a human, but he really didn't want to summon himself to an alternate reality unless he had a safe and sure way to return back to the elemental countries. That's when he got an idea.

The Flying Thundergod technique.

If he somehow got his hands on that technique, and actually managed to find out how it worked, then he could safely come and go from other dimensions as he wanted.

At the moment though, that was merely a pipe-dream. It was known as one of the most intricate techniques that has ever existed, and it probably was a good reason for it. Obviously enough, the technique most likely used seals, but just what type of seals was a mystery. Even if he somehow managed to gather one of the Kunai that the fourth had used, he would most likely not manage to make heads or tails from the seals on it.

This though, was something he could find a solution for later as he watched the Sound girl, Kin her name was, beat Ino Yamanaka in their preliminary match.

Too many people had managed to get to the tower. Including his own team, there was also Team 8, the Sound Team, another Konoha team who looked almost ten years older than them, a team from sand, and at last, a team from Konoha that was probably a year older than them. He actually remembered the girl on the team, she used to be quite fanatical about weapons he could recall...

His eyes snapped over to the monitor as a Sound member, Zaku Abumi was called down to fight against one from the really old Konoha team, Misumi Tsurugi.

"Are both contestants ready?" The referee, a sickly, somewhat sleep-deprived man named Gekko Hayate asked. He got a pair of quite arrogant "Yes" as an answer, so he really had no other choice but to start the match.

"Begin!"

"Who do you think will win?" Naruto asked his team as they listened to the two guys banter back and forth.

"Quite hard to say." Shino said as he adjusted his glasses. "The Abumi boy is acting. My bugs has already checked his arms, and they are not broken at all. They were broken quite recently, but somehow he managed to get them fixed. "

"The other person is an enigma. I have no idea what his abilities are, but his chakra-reserves are quite large, easily as high as an experienced Chuunin, but I guess that is to be expected from a contestant that old."

"From what I can see from here, the Zaku kid seems to have holes in his hands, so I will guess either some kind of fire or wind technique, possibly one from each, seeing as the two elements corresponds quite well as a combination technique." Naruto couldn't help but nod in agreement from Shikamaru and Shino's words.

"So in short, Zaku should win this unless his opponent somehow manages to get in close." Naruto ended, his eyes never leaving the younger of the two contestants.

"Decapitating air-waves!" The boy yelled as he held his arm forward, a large air-blast being hurtled towards the twenty-something years old man. He barely managed to dodge, his balance somewhat jumbled from the force behind the technique.

Zaku only smirked as he pulled out his other hand from the sling, showing that Shino's testament was true.

"Extreme decapitating air-waves!" Came from the boy as he thrust both his hands forward, an air-funnel easily three times as large as the former one being emitted from his palms. Misumi could do nothing else than brace himself.

The technique hit dead on, sending him hurtling towards the wall as his body created a small crater at the impact, the wind-technique cutting up the floor and wall as it blasted towards him.

"Huh, interesting." Naruto mumbled as Zaku cut of his technique, panting a bit.

"Hmm, what is?" Shikamaru asked as he looked over the railing, his eyes widening a bit.

"He knows the hiding mole technique." Naruto couldn't keep the smirk from his face at the slightly stunned looks on his team's face.

A moment later, hands sprung up from underneath Zaku, grabbing his legs before he felt himself descend into the earth, leaving only his shocked head above ground.

"WHAT THE HECK?!" He screamed as he watched Misumi arise from the ground, a Kunai in his right hand.

"You have three seconds to give up before I end you." He said loudly, forcing Hayate to interfere.

"Winner by incapacitation, Misumi Tsurugi."

A chorus of applause came from the Konoha ninja. Shikamaru though stood in a thinking position, something Iruka noticed.

"Anything the matter Shikamaru?"

"Well, I just can't shake away the feeling that he probably let himself get hit just to give himself that chance."

"Wouldn't surprise me." Naruto inquired. "That guy has more experience using that technique than me, seeing as he instantly managed to delve into the wall."

'And that makes four matches.' Naruto thought as his eyes scanned the area. The first match was the oldest Konoha team's other black-wearing member, a man named Yoroi Akado, versus the Sand girl, Temari. She easily won the match with a wind-technique, sending him into a wall for so too smash her gigantic fan into his head, effectively insuring a major concussion.

The second battle was a bit better. Hinata Hyuuga versus Tenten, the girl from the slightly older team. The match was pretty even, Hinata not managing to get in a good hit, Tenten not managing to hit the nimble girl with her weapons. She had been forced to use her Twin Rising Dragons, which essentially was her summoning a metric-ton of weapons to send towards her target through wires.

It didn't work against Hinata though. She used Kaiten, and even though she used an incomplete version, it still got the job done of defending her against the onslaught. She quickly rushed Tenten after the rain of weapons finished and struck her arms, essentially rendering them useless, forcing the weapon lover to quit.

The third match was between Kin Tsuchi and Yamanaka Ino, and it was quite pathetic if Naruto had to say so. Kin threw her first senbon at Ino, using them as a distraction as she anticipated that the girl would be able to dodge out of the way. That did not happen as Ino didn't dodge in time, the senbon in her shoulder distracting her enough so Kin could incapacitate her by throwing a few senbons at the blonde's legs, hitting certain nerve-clusters, rendering her legs momentarily useless.

In short, it was a pretty pathetic battle.

His eyes snapped back to the screen on the wall as it announced the next contestants. Naruto grabbed Shikamaru's shoulder as he passed him.

"It's best you don't lose Shikamaru, can't let someone take away our unofficial spot as the best genin team now, can we?" He asked, only gaining an eye-roll and a troublesome as an answer. Then again, if he went by the small smirk on the lazy genius' face, then the pre-teen wasn't entirely against the idea.

'Great, I'm against a Hyuuga, and a pretty good one too if his posture says anything.' Went through Shikamaru's head as he slowly walked down the stairs, earning an annoyed glare from his opponent, Neji.

"The battle hasn't even started yet, and Shikamaru's lazy nature has already aggravated his opponent." Naruto muttered to Shino, earning a nod from him.

"Both contestants ready?" A terse nod and a lazy "yes" was his answer.

"Begin!"

"You should give up." Neji began. "Clan-heir or not, you are still fated to lose."

"I would if I could," The pineapple headed genin said, his annoyed voice laced with a minute amount of amusement. "But if I did that, then Naruto would kill me." He couldn't keep the smirk from his face at the somewhat surprised look on the Hyuuga's face.

Damn, Naruto was rubbing off on him.

"Then you are a bigger loser than expected, seeing as the worst dead-last ever is stronger than you."

The temperature in the room dropped several degrees as Shikamaru lost control of his killer intent, shocking Team 8 at the intensity behind it.

'Oh no, he just insulted not just Naruto, but also Shikamaru.' Came Iruka's dismayed thoughts, knowing that the boy would be lucky if he came out from the battle intact. Despite what one might think, Team 10 is a knit-together group. Sure, Naruto often tested Shikamaru's patience with his goads and cynical remarks, but there was no real malice behind their words or actions.

"You think you can beat me? Then come at me, fate's bitch." Shikamaru sneered at the Hyuuga, his glare revealing that he would inflict untold pain upon the arrogant fool before him.

Neji bristled at the insults as he rushed towards Shikamaru, ignoring the one-handed seal the boy formed.

As Neji thrust his hand forward, Shikamaru did something unexpected. A moment before it hit him, he grabbed the teen's wrist, the small moment of hesitation was all he needed as he grabbed Neji's face with his other hand, emitting a scream of agony from the fate obsessed fool.

"Isn't that the short-circuit technique? Why is it so strong?" Shino mumbled, barely loud enough for Iruka to hear.

"The technique was originally a method of torture, being used to fry a person's nerve-system, but it was later modified to a kidnapping technique meant to temporary paralyze and knock out one's target... Just where did he learn to weave the electrical chakra in such a way?" He asked himself as he watched Neji lie on the floor, foam leaving his mouth as a satisfied Shikamaru gained victory.

"Not bad Shikamaru." Naruto congratulated the lazy genius, earning an appreciative nod. "You left him alive though."

"Yeah. For one, I really do not wanna deal with any political stuff, and second, who is to say he came out of this without any lasting injuries?" He ignored the surprised look on his teachers face as he propped his arm on the railing, leaning his head on the hand.

"Nice."

"Yeah... By the way, you're up." The team's eyes snapped towards the monitor.

"Dosu Kinuta... Interesting." He couldn't keep the smirk from his face as he leaped over the railing, the mummified Sound ninja already waiting for him.

"Are the two contestants ready?"

"Of course." Dosu said while Naruto only summoned a dagger as his answer. He decided that since the last one disintegrated, he would get a new one. Hopefully this one wouldn't get destroyed simply by stabbing someone.

"Begin!"

Nothing happened. The two boys stood still, staring at each other, trying to gauge their opponents strength. Naruto didn't complain about the stare-off. He made a one-handed seal, three earth-clones rising from the floor standing in a triangular formation in front of him.

'This might be a problem.' Dosu thought as he cursed himself for not rushing the boy. Smoke filled his vision as Naruto threw smoke-pellets at his feet, barely managing to dodge a dagger, getting a scrape on his arm from another one as he dodged to slow. He jumped out of the smokescreen as the four Naruto's attacked him.

"Sonic boom!" He yelled, smashing his melody arm on the floor, a shock wave emitting from his position, destroying two of the clones. The last clone tried to hit him from behind, but its attack missed, earning a face-shattering punch.

He barely managed to dodge a slash from the last Naruto, and he continued to dodge feverishly out of the way, getting a few nicks from the rapid slashed from the blonde. He blocked the dagger with his melody arm before grabbing the blonde's neck with his other arm, smashing a knee in his chest. He followed it with a smash to the blondes sternum with his melody arm, the sound waves turning the internal organs into mush.

His small sense of victory evaporated however when the blonde turned into dirt, leaving him alone on the arena floor.

'Not above me, not around me... beneath!' He barely jumped out of the way as a great-sword was thrust from the ground where he previously stood. He would have breathed a sigh of relief if he didn't have to dodge another sword. No matter where he ran to, another sword seemed to rise from the ground.

'Damn his clones!' With that thought, he jumped in the air, focusing a lot of chakra in his arm to smash into the ground. Naruto wouldn't let that happen though as he flew out of the ground, his sword ready to swing once he got in range.

"NO!" Dosu screamed as he watched the blonde swing at him. Instinctively, he smashed his metallic weapon into Naruto's sword, a loud clang was heard throughout the room as Dosu's weapon barely held up to Naruto's sword.

That sound was all he needed though.

"Vibrating sound drill!"

For a moment nothing happened, then Naruto clasped his arm over right ear as a gasp left him, blood pouring from the ear. The clones acted instantly, grabbing Naruto before getting him away from the now dangerous opponent.

"KILL HIM!" Naruto screamed at the other clones he had as they too rose from the ground. The boy might have stood against four clones who only wielded daggers, but he stood no chance against over ten clones who wielded the dark-orange wearing boy's favorite weapon.

Naruto watched through blurry eyes as Dosu managed to dodge one sword before he got his right arm cut of by another sword. He barely managed to scream out in pain before his legs was cut off. He didn't even manage to fall to the ground before two swords pierced his chest, smashing him into the floor hard enough to crack it.

A stunned silence followed the somewhat brutal death of the Sound genin. It was quickly followed by cries of outrage from the other two Sound genins. Shikamaru and Shino rushed to his side to balance him as Hayate pronounced him the winner.

"You okay Naruto?" Shikamaru, who was to his right asked.

"What?" Naruto fired back, a small amount of dread filling both him and his team-mates as he barely managed to hear anything from that ear.

"He used sound-vibrations as a weapon... This is not good, he might have permanently damaged your right ear, possibly even the part of your ear that holds your balance." Shino, who was at Naruto's left side mumbled, somehow making the blonde paler than what he currently was.

"That fucking shit." He whispered, barely managing to restrain himself from butchering the corpse even further than his clones already had.

"Let's move you to the medics, maybe they can fix your ear." Shikamaru said loud enough for Naruto to hear, a somewhat defeated nod his only answer. He sighed as he pressed his right hand towards Naruto's ear, trying to block out as much sound as possible from damaging it even further. Kind of an awkward position, but they really didn't care at that point.

**'I'll destroy every one of you!'**

Naruto shook his head before looking around, uncertainty clear on his face.

"Shikamaru, who said that?"

The boy couldn't help but give Naruto an unsure look, worry beginning to seep through the shadow-user.

"No one said anything Naruto... Maybe it was your ear acting up?" He knew from the pensive look on his pale companions face that it was probably not the case.

"Maybe... I, I do not know. Just let me rest."

It was clear to him now. No one had said it, at least from outside his body. The voice sounded nothing like Angmar, so that left only one opinion.

'I think it's time we meet.'

~Scene~

"**So you finally grace me with your presence."**

'This place is a shit-hole.' Went through the boy's mind, which was ironic when one thought about it, since that is exactly where Naruto found himself. A steady dripping of water was heard in the distance as the massive rust and water-filled room loomed before him. The walls and ceiling looked like it was barely holding itself up, and the water was so murky that he couldn't see the floor which was barely a foot under water, if even that.

"It's not my fault that I was never taught how to enter the seal, fox." The boy said as he stared upon the massive cage in front of him, bars as thick as him, and an intricate design on the sides he honestly had to say he liked. In the middle of it all was the seal, acting as the lock to the cage-door.

The massive fox forced a sneer on his face as he stared upon the creator of the tailed beasts... Well, all tailed beast except for him. He was not a chakra-construct like the other beasts, and he had lived far longer than anyone would fathom. Heck, he didn't even remember half of his life.

"**Neglect or not, I would at least expect some sort of talent from my container, something I am hard-pressed in seeing right now."** May his love have mercy upon him in the next life, but until he saw any form of resistance towards the wretched kings influence, then he couldn't show any sort of camaraderie towards the boy.

"Even the greatest potential can be ruined by never learning the basics Kyuubi." The fox really knew how to get under his skin, but that was something to expect since it had lived inside of him his entire life.

"**The only potential you have is as a liar. I wonder what your friends would say if they saw the real you? I wonder if they know that your entire personality is basically one big charade?"** He felt sick as he forced a wicked grin across his face. This boy was nothing like his love, nothing like the man that had won him over... But he was still his descendant... He couldn't decide if what he did was the right thing to do or not.

The massive entity couldn't just see it, but he could also feel it in the air. The entire atmosphere around the boy shifted, filling with dread and corruption. Just how far had the boy actually fallen?

"The longer they are left unknowing, the better. It's just to bad that I can't corrupt them as easily as others, but they are slowly coming along... Well, at least one of them are." The Kyuubi shivered at the cold tone the boy's voice had. It was simply wrong for such a coldness to be in a child's voice.

"I have to wonder though, why do you care? Aren't you simply a mass-murdering beast hell-bent on escaping that damned prison of yours, or is it something else? I actually expected more insults and death-threats when I first came here."

"**My intentions are for me to know, and you to never find out... I must ask though, who am I talking to? Are you Naruto, or are you that wretched king?" **He already knew the answer. The human he talked to was Naruto, but he had to know if the boy himself realized his changes. It was simply... unnatural to accept such drastic changes with so little resistance.

Naruto stared up at Kyuubi with a look that basically screamed 'Are you a retard?'. A moment later he got a thoughtful expression, as if pondering the question.

"That's actually an interesting question you asked, but I have to wonder why you care? Wouldn't you be happy if I was Angmar, seeing as he is a much more corrupted being than me?"

"**That is of no concern for you, just answer my question."** He knew the boy was fishing for information, something that he could hold as a sort of leverage against him. Then the boy did something he didn't expect.

He chuckled.

"I would love to say that I am Angmar, but I am all Naruto... Well, at least for the most part." He chuckled again, this time much darker than before.

Kyuubi almost sighed in relief before the last part of the sentence hit him

"**What do you mean 'for the most part'?"**

Again that hollow laughter. Kyuubi couldn't help but feel sick when he heard it, and that damn wound that the man left behind was beginning to act up.

"You are inside of me, and yet you don't know? I expected more from you if I have to be honest... Oh well, I guess it can't hurt answering you. After all, there is no way for you to attack me, am I right Balrog?"

**'What?'** How did the boy know his name? Did that man tell him? No, it does not fit his personality. He was a secretive being, never liking to tell anyone anything at all.

"You look surprised. I must be honest, getting Angmar to speak was difficult, much harder than the old man..." Here his demeanor changed, somehow becoming darker as he scowled at the fox.

"He's purged from my body, and I know you did it. I felt it the moment it happened almost two weeks ago. You have no idea how weak I felt back then!" His chakra flared around him as he spoke, shaking the entire room as Kyuubi had to force himself to not cower in fear.

"You took away the best thing that had ever happened to me! I couldn't let that happen, I wouldn't let that happen! So I absorbed what was left of him, making him a part of me, making me more like him! I will not let go of him that easily."

"**You... DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE? YOU HAVE DOOMED THIS WORLD!"**

"I DO NOT CARE! THIS WORLD MAY ROT FOR ALL I CARE, YOU CAN'T UNDO WHAT I HAVE DONE ANYWAY!"

Balrog closed his eyes in defeat, knowing that what the boy said was true...

Well, almost true.

"**You... You have turned into nothing more than a hell-spawn... I will not stand you tarnishing my master's name like this!"**

"Heh, and how are you going to stop me?"

Naruto's smirk of satisfaction fell as Kyuubi chuckled. A hollow, forced chuckle that held no humor, but a sense of victory was still clear in it.

"**Now now, it will be no fun if I simply tell you now, will it? You'll have to wait like everybody else."**

'Wait? What is he planning... Is he planning to trick me? Well, then I simply never come back here, so it's probably not that... Possess me? Impossible, the fourth wasn't stupid enough to make a seal that allows the prisoner to possess the host...'

"I have to be honest, without Angmar here I feel a bit... lost... Whatever. Do what you want, I'm leaving."

He turned around and began to walk towards the corridor in which he came from, an annoyed frown on his face as their first meeting was... dis-satisfactory. Right before he left, something crossed his mind.

"Say, Kyuubi. What happened to your hand?"

He didn't see how Kyuubi winced slightly at the question, the wound flaring up again at just being mentioned.

"**What do you think? This is the hand that crushed that wretched man that you managed to drain just a sliver of power from. To bad you didn't gain anything important, eh?"** He tried to taunt the kid with a smirk as the boy turned around, realization slowly forming on Naruto's face.

"You... You crushed him? He stabbed you right before he died, didn't he? He stabbed you... Hehehe, hehehehehe." He couldn't hold in his laughter anymore, the mere fact that Kyuubi was stupid enough to attack Angmar directly was just to indescribable to him.

"**What are you laughing at?" **He couldn't help the rising fear that bubbled forth in his chest. **"STOP LAUGHING AND ANSWER ME!"**

He suddenly wished the boy didn't cease his laughing, for the smug smile on his face was ten times worse.

"Now now, it will be no fun if I simply tell you now, will it? You'll have to wait like everybody else." He teased, using the same words that the entity had used against him mere minutes ago.

He suddenly turned around and entered the corridor, his form slowly fading to view as his last words was heard.

"In time Kyuubi. In time you will be mine to command, and I will enjoy it immensely." Then a hollow laughter filled the air, then silence.

"**No..." **Why didn't he think about that? **"It... It can't be." **He thought he was stabbed by the sword of that man... But if the Witch-king's heir's reaction was anything to go by...

"**The balance has been disrupted. A Maia of light has to be chosen now... Gods, please... Choose someone that can stop this child. Choose someone that can stop my master's tainted heir."**

"**Do not let his name be tarnished anymore..."**


	7. Clouded intentions

**AN: Sorry for the shorter-than-normal chapter, and sorry if the quality seems to be a bit lack-luster, but I have re-written this chapter several times, and... I don't know, I just can't get this chapter to flow. Sorry. Oh well, it's better with something small than nothing at all I guess...**

**Holy shit does hotmail look absolutely retarded right now! What is this outlook shit?! Dear god, I can't look at it without feeling like crying! And dear log, what has happened to this site? It's ugly, nooooooo!*Sobs***

**Damn, I might just have found one of the best stories in this site. The Author SincereNaruto. Story: Eyes of the broken soul... Damn, that story is fantastic, and it's just so sad that it will probably never be finished.**

**LET'S START!**

~Scene~

The lights flickered, signs of neglect clear around the room as thick layers of dust covered the surface. Broken glass was littered around on the ground at several places close to the walls, and some sort of strange substance, something anyone would bet was at least partially blood, had long since seeped into the cracks on the floor, making sure that no amount of cleaning will get rid of everything.

The walls were littered with shelves and cabinets, jars filled with the same strange fluid that covered the floor resided inside of them, and in some, there seemed to grow some kind of organism, though it was more likely that whatever it was were now dead, somewhat evident by the aura of rot that filled the large room.

Two figures were seen carefully observing the jars, walking slowly along the walls as their fingers almost touched the glass.

"Exactly why did you want to return here?"

The pine-apple headed one of the individuals sighed ruefully, the answer not quite clear to even himself.

It had been twenty-four hours since the end of the preliminary exams. Team 10, after Shino's victory against Kankuro, the second oldest of the sand-team, had been told to take the next day off, seeing as Iruka wanted them back to one-hundred percent before he began their rigorous, pre-tournament training.

Naruto had been sent to the hospital after his match due to the possibility of a damaged ear. Thankfully, after several scans and a very minor operation, it was shown that thanks to the medics fast reaction and Kyuubi's remarkable healing, his ear would be perfectly fine before the last exams.

The blonde had to snort in amusement when he found out who his first opponent was. Hinata Hyuuga, the heiress to the Hyuuga clan, a girl that was practically royalty in Konoha. Neither he nor his team could stop the chuckles that escaped from them as he, the demon-brat of Konoha, would fight against the crown-princess of the Hyuuga. He had been reminded of a fairy-tale he had read some years back, but the results of the match would be quite different than the happy ending the story foretold.

Shikamaru also had a pretty interesting fight. According to him, he was supposed to fight a member of the oldest Konoha team, one Kabuto Yakushi if his memories was correct. He had some interesting abilities his silent comrades said, having used a medical technique to sever the tendons around his opponent, one Rock Lee, when the last member of Team Gai had started the match with his signature move, the leaf hurricane, a roundhouse kick that was meant as a surprise attack.

It was supposedly an extremely fast match. Kabuto simple grabbed the foot when it came and cut the tendons before doing the same with the other leg when Lee tried a desperation move. The boy couldn't stand after that, the damage to severe to immediately fix itself. Thankfully though, he was apparently healing nicely, his release from the hospital due after a maximum of seven days.

Shino also had an opponent from the senior team, the one named Misumi. That man's abilities was far less interesting though. The hiding mole technique, which Shino could counter pretty effectively, basic hand-to-hand skills, and apparently no illusion skills. All in all, a seemingly boring opponent, but Dosu was apparently pretty boring to, and that almost lost Naruto more than his match. Shino would prepare in case the man proved himself more troublesome than expected.

The whiskered boy had been told this moments before his release from the hospital, which somewhat irked Shikamaru since that meant he could just have waited outside the sterilized building. Shino had quickly excused himself, muttering something about a new colony before walking off, leaving behind the genius and the novice assassin.

It didn't take long for the shadow-user to lead Naruto down a somewhat familiar path, one they had taken six days ago, a path that lead them back towards their second exam. Naruto had actually been quite shocked by the teen's request, but he couldn't deny that he himself was a bit intrigued.

That request was what led them back to the tunnel they took, the supposedly safe tunnel that made a bee-line towards the tower, and more exact, the large room that sat right in the middle of the corridor.

The silence ensued between them as Naruto opened one of the cabinets, his surprise minimal at the unanswered question as his eyes flicked over the journals inside of it.

Naruto had to be honest with himself. Despite Angmar corrupting him, and later the consumption of a small part of Angmar's soul, Naruto was still not a very intellectual person, but even he could see the pure maddening genius that was kept hidden inside the laboratory.

Body modifications, physical enhancements, forbidden techniques, torturing techniques, poisons, mental barriers, and most interesting for Naruto, seals. He was somewhat sad that he didn't know the person that the lab belonged to, and the journal he had flipped through had not revealed any names to go by. He was not one to squander such a fantastic opportunity though.

Flipping out a scroll, he placed it on the ground, unsealing his ink and brush along with a small stack of scrolls. Quickly opening one, he scribbled down the necessary components of his wanted seal. This was something Naruto prided himself with just a tiny bit. He was undoubtedly the most intellectual individual out of his age-group when it came to seals.

He only heard a small click of the tongue from his partner before he sealed away the entire cabinet, intending to read through whatever information that was hidden within the aging tomes. He was especially interested in something called 'Cursed seals', but that would be a later project.

Shikamaru only let out a sound of annoyance as he watched the blonde seal away the cabinet, his attention mainly on the jars along the walls.

He couldn't describe what he felt when he looked at the deformed creatures within them. He felt disgusted by the sight, the entire prospect revolting. He also felt a certain anger at the person that had done these experiments, some of them seemingly ripping apart the laws of nature right before his very eyes.

Underneath it all though was something that had grown inside of him since he was younger. It was an insatiable hunger that all Nara's had, but most managed to keep the urges in check. Him though... He had felt it grow inside of him for a long time, but only recently, since he was made a genin, did this instinct begin to surface.

Shikamaru was curious.

A curious Nara was dangerous, even his own dad had said so. Often, one would go to almost any length to satisfy the cravings, and it was almost impossible to snap one out of their nigh trance-like state... But he felt fine though, his mind was clear, and not anything like what his father had described. It honestly disturbed him a tiny bit, but that part was quickly squashed by his rationality.

It was ridiculous, all of it. The only way one of his clan members could go off the deep end like that was if they already had some deep psychological problems, and the Yamanaka clan usually managed to help most people through their issues without many problems.

Nothing was wrong with him, and everyone knew it. His father never said anything without having an ulterior motif, and the meaning behind his words was clear here.

'No matter if you are my son, I will be the one to strike you down if I see you descend into madness.'

He had never felt such anger towards anyone before, not even Naruto when he mocked his aversion to killing made such rage form inside of him.

His head snapped over to glare at the hooded blonde as he felt the boy grab his shoulder. His glare lessened somewhat though when he saw the frown that was barely visible under the hood.

"You okay?"

He couldn't help but sigh as he put down the jar he had been examining, small cracks visible on it after he almost crushed it in his anger.

"I'm not sure."

He heard the blonde sigh before he was pulled away from the jars, being forced to sit down on one of the few chairs that wasn't destroyed.

"What happened? What are you planning? Why are you interested in this lab? I want answers Shikamaru, so talk. If you refuse, then I will simply phase us out of here, and I will not care about any objections you might have." Naruto narrowed his eyes a bit as he stared down at Shikamaru, the Nara averting his gaze form his own hooded eyes.

"... You're not going to let this go, are you?" The shadow-user asked at last, meeting the blonde's gaze as he let his hood fall to give Shikamaru a harder stare. Shikamaru couldn't help but frown a bit at the slight shake of the whiskered boy's head.

"Fine... My father thinks that I'm going mental." He couldn't help but savor the somewhat incredulous look the blonde had after he heard that.

"Stop me if I am wrong, but isn't that somewhat in the job-description? Have you ever met a ninja that doesn't at least have SOME form of mental issue, because I haven't."

Shikamaru knew Naruto was right, but he really did not want to admit it. Not just his clan, but also himself sought pride from their far above average intellect, something that was meant as a shield against accusations of psychological illnesses.. He knew the risks, and he believed that he would find logic and reason in everything he did... Yet, there was this nagging feeling in the back of his mind that had begin to grow after his first bout with death, when he and the others fought against that knight.

"Naruto... What is happening to us? We have become cold, you especially, and I... Even I have begun to feel a bit indifferent towards the people I kill, towards the emotion we call guilt..." He let out a sigh as he stood up from the chair, Naruto moving out of the way as Shikamaru once again gazed at the experiments that lined the walls.

"When I almost attacked you back in the first exam, it was not because of anger towards the words you spoke, but rather the truth that was hidden in them... I said that not everyone has stopped feeling guilt, but despite the fact that I was talking to you, the meaning behind my words was directed towards Shino and Iruka."

"We're not like them Naruto." He finally said after a moment of silence, turning back towards the blonde who listened to him with rapt attention.

"Something changed you Naruto, something happened during the week before the teams was assembled, and whatever happened... Well, to be blunt, it corrupted you, changed the mere feeling that used to surround you... As a Nara, I am attuned to shadows, which in turn makes me a bit attuned towards darkness, which means I am somewhat more attuned towards the darker emotions that inhibit people around me, and... And I have never felt such an overwhelming amount of hatred, hostility, malice and scorn before."

He turned back towards the jars and picked one down, some malformed and rotting figure was sealed inside of it, strange black markings stretched around the creatures skin.

"In the start, I couldn't bear to be around you, I felt my emotions slip, and my judgment was constantly clouded... For most of the clan, that is not such a big deal, but for me... I am an oddity in my clan Naruto, and my control over shadows are tied together with my mental well-being and emotions. I have an enormous amount of control, even for our clan, and I am able to master techniques in weeks that take others months, but the main difference is that my shadows has some form of sentience."

"There's no denying it. I hate you Naruto, I feel the shadows reach out to you, begging me to butcher you, mutilate you, _murder_ you..."

"Then why am I still alive?" The voice that left Naruto, it felt almost ghastly, like an empty shell. "Why are my heart still beating?" He took a step forward. "Why are my lungs still breathing?" Another step. "Why are my brain still processing?" He raised his hand right in front of Shikamaru's face. "Why am I..." He clenched his hand. "Still existing?"

Shikamaru stared at the fist in front of him, scrutinizing it, as if it was the first time he had ever seen something like that.

"You exist..." He began as he grasped the fist, slowly lowering it as a sign of truce. "Because you are the one I trust the most."

They just stared at each other, brown eyes lazily gazing into mildly confused blue eyes, not a single twitch of movement between them as Naruto absorbed what his partner had just said.

He laughed. It was a slow, soft laughter, almost mockingly if not for the underlying tone of sincerity, the one thing that kept Shikamaru from lashing out. A shrewd smile stretched across Naruto's face as he stared at Shikamaru, a small amount of grim acceptance shining from the blue orbs.

"We really are two screwed up individuals, you know that?"

"Says the container of the Kyuubi." The Nara shrugged, ignoring the surprised look on the blonde's face.

"Ya figured it out I see. Then again, it's not exactly hard to figure out. I have whiskers, am born at the tenth of October, and is generally hated among the villagers."

"That, and you hate them back... It's almost ridiculous the amount of hatred you harbor towards them."

Naruto couldn't help but smirk, cocking his head to the side as if taunting the person opposite him.

"Really? Heh, I could have sworn that I had bottled up my true emotions pretty tight behind this facade of indifference." He suddenly got a far-off look on his face, as if remembering something.

"Say, what about Hinata? What does she truly feel?"

"Why do I feel as if this is a multifaceted question? Bah, whatever. Towards you, love with a small amount of trepidation due to your changes. Towards her cousin, sadness, and a deep longing, but not in a romantic way. Towards her father... Anguish, despair, sorrow, fear, hatred. She loathes the man almost as much as you despise the village."

He let out a sigh before he took out a scroll, sealing away several jars to study later. He began to walk towards the exit, the one close to the river that had caved in during their first trip a few days ago.

"It's sad really. This peaceful, happy, perfect little village is a breeding ground for hatred, misconception, sorrow and despair. Out of all the missing nins on the bingo books, a third of them are from this village, several of them S-rank. I wouldn't be surprised if this place was used by one of them... perchance Orochimaru..."

He turned his head slightly and saw the barely visible pursed lips under the hood, as if the boy was still thinking about the Hyuuga heiress.

"You're planning to manipulate her, aren't you? Use her love and hatred as a sort of catalyst to mold her into whatever you like?"

The smirk from before returned. "Who, me? Oh, I would never do something like that." The sarcasm was basically dripping from every word that he uttered. "Then again, you aren't exactly the purest of butterflies anymore now, are you? C'mon, what'cha planning?"

He was not graced by an answer as the lazy ninja kept his mouth shut, earning a stifled snort from the blonde as they soon reached the cave-in.

As Naruto touched a part of the un-sealed wall, Shikamaru grasped his shoulder, getting ready for the transportation.

"The day you tell me about your ambitions is the day that I will tell you mine."

He didn't get a response, but the small amount of mirth he felt somewhat told him what Naruto thought as they sunk into the stone walls, intending on leaving the laboratory and forest behind for a later date.

All was silent inside the lab, not a single sound was heard for almost ten minutes, nor was there any movement. Then, nary ten minutes later, a form rose from the floor. The form turned out to be a man. Tall, pale and with long black hair. Yellow eyes with a slit pupil, and purple markings around the eyes. If one had to look at the face, one would say he looked quite handsome.

The man looked around with narrowed eyes, noting the foot-steps on the dusty floor, along with the lack of several jars and a cabinet in which he once used to keep his journals.

"Hmm, seems like I was correct when I felt someone inside my base." A silky voice emanated from the man, and if anyone had been nearby to hear it, they would have associated it with what a snake might have sounded like.

"Three people came and left, but two came back later and took my old journals... By the size of the shoes, I would say they are somewhere between twelve and fifteen of age, which means that someone from the Chuunin-exams found this place. If I had to guess, then it would probably be an Aburame that managed to somehow find my illusion... I shall have Kabuto look through the teams that passed to the second round later."

"I wonder though..." He muttered to himself as he stared at the now vacated spot where the cabinet used to stand. "What will these upstarts do with my information? I need to find them as fast as possible just in case they decide to hand everything to the old monkey."

He chuckled to himself though as he slowly sank through the floor again.

"Oh well, it's not like the information there is useful against me anymore. It will be interesting though if this village suddenly gains another scientist."


	8. The first pawn

**AN: Here is my updating schedule for that one person who was interested: Whenever I have the time, and whenever I am interested. Lovely schedule, right?**

**Anyway, going to focus a bit on this story now for a while, so yeah. Ohh, this chapter is going to generate some hate, I just know it...**

**LET'S START!**

~Scene~

"Will everyone but the participants of the first match please leave the arena?"

A month came and went for the elemental nations, and the closer the final test of the Chuunin exam came, the slower the world seemed to move. The genin had used the month to gain new skills, dust off the rust off old moves, and generally trying to scout their opponents, and finally the day had come.

Naruto let an unseen smirk graze his lips as he gazed across the arena towards his opponent, the Hyuuga Heiress Hinata, the princess of Konoha. It was almost poetic, seeing as he, the 'demonic' peasant was going to fight against the 'pure' noble. Oh, but he was not going to be tamed or destroyed by this so-called goddess on earth. He had heard the rumors that spread around the village, and he laughed hard that night, so hard that he almost ruptured his spleen.

Iruka didn't train him, and he could actually understand why. His stealth was as good as any Jounin, He already had several earth techniques, and a wind one he had mastered during the break, so that was not what he needed. They would occasionally spar, but Iruka was no master of the sword, so he had asked for some help. Who knew the man had some contacts in ANBU?

His smirk gained a somewhat giddy tinge to it as he thought about his swordsmanship teacher. The man, just like himself, used a great-sword, and that was when he had learned something important about the larger than average hunk of metal he carried around. Despite the fact that he had at the very least a proficient grasp on the basics, that meant almost nothing in a real fight. He was disarmed in under a second, and if it was an enemy he was fighting against, he would have died there and then.

And that was what they used most of their time on. Physical conditioning, spars, and sword training. He had been told that his learning curve with the sword was unheard of, but definitely a pleasant surprise for the ANBU, since that meant they ramped up the training even more, something which Naruto didn't complain about. Maybe that was the aspect he absorbed from Angmar... Maybe, but somehow, he knew that was wrong.

The ANBU, Panther, knew exactly what he did. Iruka couldn't hold a candle against that man's way of teaching, but that might stem from the fact that Naruto was more of a physical learner, and Iruka's teaching techniques was much more theoretical. Still, Naruto definitely liked Panther's methods more than Iruka's at the moment, that was for sure.

Naruto gave an absentminded nod when the proctor asked if he was ready before he snapped his attention on the girl opposite him. His smirk widened at the shivering girl.

"BEGIN!"

As the proctor jumped away, neither contestants moved a muscle. Lavender eyes stared into the hood where she knew that the blue orbs of her love would reside.

She couldn't do this, she couldn't fight against Naruto, her one true love. She just couldn't fight against her sun, her light in a dark world, her paramour.

"Well, isn't this just lovely." The mirth in the voice blew away her mental rambling, her attention now solely on the rusted-orange-and-black clothed individual in front of her.

"W-What?" Damn her stuttering.

"Come on now, don't say you can't see the irony in the situation? The forever-hated demon-brat against the venerable princess of Konoha, who also is the heiress of the 'pure-blooded' Hyuuga clan. It's almost poetic." Hinata could almost envision a cruel smile on the blonde's face.

"Then again, I don't really care about that." He settled into a basic fighting stance, a dagger being summoned in his hand.

"Fight me Hyuuga! Show me the so-called undefeatable hand-to-hand style you are so proudly tottering around with!"

Naruto watched as the shy girl shivered, fear clear in her eyes and stance. A small amount of disgust couldn't help but arise within him, a small bit of arrogance that he had attained from the almighty dead king rearing it's ugly head.

"Pathetic." He uttered before he took the initiative. The girl had barely registered that the boy moved before she was forced to dodge the knife. The boy didn't let up though as he intertwined several jabs and kicks in between his swings. Several times the girl had defended against his arms and feet, and at least once he had been blocked by her hands, yet he didn't feel any pain.

The girl was holding back.

A growl left him before he suddenly raised his effort, ducking within her guard before back-handing her hard, sending her to the ground.

"Weak. Why are you so weak?" He said so the entire stadium heard him. The crowd was silent, and the girl's father sat with his clan, a small bit of worry clear in his eyes and posture.

"Father, how can a mere commoner manage that against Hinata?" A small girl that sat beside the man said, signifying her as his daughter.

The man was silent though as he watched the scene unfold before him.

"Get up." Naruto said as he glared at the still and crying girl.

"I said, GET UP!" Before the girl knew it, she was yanked up by her hair, her face mere inches from her love's own hooded face.

"For being someone who admires me, you are fucking fast to give up I must say." He growled as he stared at the pathetic sight of his stalker.

"An entire month has passed, yet you are just as weak as when you fought against Tenten. Oh, how I wish I fought against her instead right now, at least the fights back."

A sob was the only answer he got before he threw the girl away, a single hair still touching his hand. A frustrated sigh left him as he watched the sobbing girl.

He couldn't help himself, he walked over to the girl and kicked her hard, sending her skidding for several feet.

"Pathetic." He uttered once again as he walked over to the girl before kneeling down.

"Tell me." He began, his voice barely loud enough for her to hear. "What is the one thing I never do?" All that left her was another sob, something which grated on the blonde's nerves.

"ANSWER ME!" He screamed, punching her face. He yanked her head up again. "I said, what is the one thing I never do?"

He watched as the girl continued to cry, but before he could punch her again, a choked voice left her bruised mouth.

"G-G-Give u-up. Y-You n-never give u-up."

"Exactly. Now tell me, what makes you think that I will ever like, heck, even notice someone who gives up without even trying?" He felt himself smiling predatory down at the girl as the look of understanding and horror slowly spread across her face.

"Now you understand." He whispered, letting go of the girls hair before taking several steps away from her, entering the same stance which he started the battle with.

"Fight me." The girl laid unmoving, which finally emanated a growl of aggression that everyone heard from the boy.

"FIGHT ME YOU RETICENT PIECE OF SHIT BEFORE I RIP YOUR SPINE OUT!"

The silence between them grew, but in the distance Naruto heard the angry shouts from Kiba, though Naruto ignored him. He sighed in frustration and was about to finish the match when he caught movement from the girl. Slowly, but without a single shiver or sob she stood up, her hair shadowing her eyes. As she finally stood straight, she entered the stance of the gentle fist, signifying that she was finally going to take the match seriously.

"I hate you." The whisper that left her was barely loud enough to be considered a sound, but somehow the entire stadium heard it.

"Byakugan." With that single word she raised her head, the veins around her eyes increasing the scornful visage she sported towards the one who she once loved.

At the sight Naruto leaned his head backwards, just enough so the hood fell away from his head, showing that he had an eye-bind made of the same material as the hood. He smiled at her, mockingly.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come at me, princess of scorn."

"... As you please."

Speeding faster than against Tenten, she came upon Naruto faster than he expected. Not fast enough though as he dodged her initial strike, which was quickly followed by more dodging and parrying. Truly, the girl must have held back against the weapon fanatic, as Naruto found himself somewhat hard-pressed to keep up. He was suddenly happy for the harsh training during the month-long break.

Looking for an opening, he quickly found one. The girl overextended one of her attacks just barely, but the slight disturbance of her form was enough for Naruto to swipe his dagger across her arm, earning a slight grunt from the girl. With a kick that missed, she managed to gain distance from the pale boy.

"The kid knows at least the basics of psychological warfare, seeing as he could crush the girl mentally any moment if he wanted to." One of the chuunin examiners said, earning a thoughtful nod from his partner.

"Yeah, and by the looks of it, the kid is holding back. If I'm not wrong, he's using weights, though not heavy ones since his form is not that limited or restricted. I would guess a good forty pound on each limb, maybe a bit extra across the waist."

"Yeah. Not enough to do anything big if he removes them, but definitely enough to gain the slight boost one might need in a tough spot."

Back at the arena, the two pre-teens looked at each other, one with a smirk, the other with a scowl.

"Looks like I got first blood." He said, raising his dagger, watching the blood drip from it. He quickly had to dodge though as the girl launched herself on him, sending a flurry of strikes towards him.

'Even a glancing blow is enough, and by the looks of it, she wants me hurt.' His thought was proven correct as he barely managed to parry a blow to his stomach, earning another jab that managed to graze his side.

Naruto saw his chance though and grabbed the offending appendage before digging his dagger deep into her biceps, almost piercing his knife straight through her arm. He let go of the dagger as he jumped back, barely dodging a potentially crippling blow.

'As expected, the gentle fist hurts pretty badly, but she missed anything vital, probably only bruised some muscles it feels like.' Happy with the result, he summoned another dagger, entering his stance once more.

Hinata on the other hand was not a happy camper. Her arm hurt like all hell, and she could barely move it thanks to Naruto's dagger that severed several muscles, and most likely pierced her bone. Definitely problematic for someone who relied heavily on their hands.

Gritting her teeth she grabbed the offending object before tearing it out in a vicious yank, a scream leaving her lips at the sharp pain. With a flick of the wrist she threw it at the boy, her scowl deepening as he dodged the thrown object.

Naruto raised a golden eye-brow when he saw the tell-tale signs of chakra being focused around ones feet, and he found himself pleasantly surprised when he was forced to dodge several chakra-enhanced kicks.

'They can use their feet too? Okay, now I am interested in learning how to do this.' He found himself growing a bit bored though as he weaved around her somewhat futile attacks. In the end, he had enough.

With a flare of his chakra he speed forward, faster than Hinata had anticipated. Smacking her futile attempt at blocking aside, he gave a palm-thrust at her chin, disorienting her before twirling his dagger around his hand, feeling the cloth around her stomach give away as he forced the slightly curved blade inside her body.

Silence. That was the only thing that Hinata managed to understand of her surrounding. Suddenly, an extremely sharp pain tore away from inside of her as she found herself staring at a cold, blue eye, the cloth having been raised by the blonde as he wanted her to look him in the eye.

'Why do I feel nothing? She was my comrade, my friend, and also a person that admired me... So why do I feel not a shred of guilt, regret or sympathy?' He found himself asking questions he hadn't thought about since he killed Mizuki, and despite everything, just like back then, he felt slightly disturbed by the pure lack of... Anything. He felt nothing, and it scared him, if only slightly.

He felt a hand on his cheek, and he once again focused on the girl in front of him. Her words, barely recognizable, but the boy still heard them clearly, was filled with the tenderness that they held before the fight.

"What are you afraid of? I see in your eyes the same fear which I see in the mirror every single day... No, it's different. Why are you afraid of yourself?" She took in a raspy breath as the medics finally had begun to rush towards them.

"Embrace who you are Naruto, that is after all what you taught me today." He gazed impassively inside her lavender eyes, morbid curiosity filling him at her words.

"Even after all this, you still love me..." He mumbled as he moved his hand a little, earning a grunt of pain from the girl at the moving dagger.

"How does it feel?" He muttered, still holding the dagger, still keeping it inside of her stomach. "How does it feel to know that your life is in another person's hands? What does it make you feel? I am honestly curious." A cough and a glob of blood that hit his face was the reply he gained.

"It makes you feel helpless, doesn't it? I have felt this several times already, the helplessness, the weakness that we both have." He leaned closer to her face, their noses almost touching.

"Become stronger with me, let us take away what makes them rule over us. Help me rule this world, and you will never be weak again."

A moment of silence, then a small smile filled her face.

"Spoken like a true king." She mumbled as she closed her eyes, falling backwards, forcing the blade out of her.

As she hit the ground, he heard the match was called in his favor, but his attention was on the medics that was closing in.

"I made sure to hit no immediately lethal spots, but you should probably hurry. The stomach acid will still damage her, and she still risks bleeding out." A small nod from one of the doctors was his only answer as they rushed her on a stretcher, trying their best to stabilize her with their medical techniques.

Naruto took one last glance at the pale girl before turning towards the stairs, putting his hood back in place.

~Scene~

"Do you believe that was smart?" Shikamaru asked the moment Naruto entered the concealed staircase. The blonde shook his head at the man's question.

"Probably not, but this was our best chance... I feel... Something, about what just happened, about what I just did, but I'm unsure exactly what... I guess you're right. I don't feel remorse anymore, and it kinda scares me, if only slightly."

Shikamaru only let out a sigh at the words, somewhat predicting them even before the match started.

"Man, what a drag. You know there's going to be consequences, right? The Hokage isn't just going to let this pass. Your change is too obvious, too fast, too... too cruel, just like Orochimaru was rumored to have snapped."

"You don't think I know that? Look, all I have to prove is that despite everything, I am loyal to Konoha. The man has never managed to look past my true lies before, and I do not expect it to happen now."

"I know..." The pause between them told Shikamaru everything he needed. Naruto was a perfect liar. If anyone could deceive the old man, it was him.

"What shall I do with Kabuto? I'm not as good in hand-to-hand combat as you, and his main skills seems to be in his close-combat skills."

"Kill him." The cold tone told Shikamaru that Naruto had a reason behind everything. It was strange, just how easily he could read the blonde. "The man... He has spied on me, on us. I managed to not show any of my better techniques or skills, nor did I mention my motives, but it's obvious the man is a spy. For who, I do not know, and I do not care. Just kill him."

"Dammit Naruto, you know I don't like killing!"

"Yeah, and yet you have thoughts about experimenting on people! Kinda hypocritical, don't you think?"

"Naruto, stop tempting me." He snarled, sending a pointed look towards his teammate.

"Hehe, why? It's kinda fun to do." He lost his smile as a shadow threatened to pierce him, yet there still seemed to be a small amount of mirth dancing around his face, evident by the twitching lips.

"Remember our deal Naruto. Whoever wins between us gets their wish fulfilled. You already know mine, and I can guess quite accurately what your desire is... And that will never happen unless you prove you are stronger than me, and I really do not believe you can beat me." The wry grin he showed increased in size when he saw the almost invisible frown on his partners face, the shadow-tendril merging back into his own shadow.

"Underestimating me is never a smart thing to do Nara. It would be best for you to remember that if you want to keep your feeble attempt of a life."

"We shall see Uzumaki, or shall I call you pseudo-king?" He lost his cheery disposition when he felt a sword touch his throat, the large dark-blue blade drawing just a drop of blood.

"It would be well to remember Shikamaru that you still owe me a favor. I gained you access to the lab, and I got you notes on the experiments done there. If you continue mocking me, that, along with your head will vanish from existence."

"Tsk, let me guess. Killing Kabuto is that favor?"

"Exactly. I do not care how you do it. A fast, clean kill, a bloody mess, torture-killing, making him brain-dead. Do whatever you feel like, but if he isn't a corpse by the end of your match, then you still owe me something."

"... Fine. You want him dead, then I'll kill him. I actually have to agree with your point of view though. The man is too dangerous to leave alive, seeing as he is obviously a quite skilled individual... That, and he's pretty twisted."

"Oh?" The blonde asked, finally removing the clone from him. "Explain."

"You remember that I can sense a person's darker emotions?" A quick nod was his reply. "Well, let's just say that Kabuto is filled with bloodlust... He seems lost though. I can feel an emptiness inside of him, like he's confused about himself..."

"... I see... Change of plans. I want you to try and read him this fight. Talk to him, find out what brings out his anger, depression, despair, sorrow, sadness, anything. I want this man under my thumb. Give me something which I can use to leverage him to my side, and I will give you a clean slate... Of course, remember to win. Our bet is still going on."

"...You know, for a moment there, I saw exactly what kind of man you will become, and it was certainly interesting."

Naruto just gave a smirk before he clapped the shadow-master on the shoulder, throwing a last-minute comment over his shoulder as he began ascending the stairs.

"And it will certainly be interesting having you as my right-hand man."


	9. DAMN YOU BRAIN! (Re-write in progress)

**THIS IS NOT A NEW CHAPTER, IT IS MORE ME BEING PISSED OFF AT MYSELF!**

**I Guess all of you know what this means... Yes, I am planning on re-writing the story.**

**There are several reasons for this, though the main reason is this: I killed of Angmar way to early. I might also NOT make Iruka Team Whatever's teacher. I am actually wondering if I should use Genma, since he is seldom used, if at all. Or maybe Shikaku or Inoichi... Inoichi might actually work pretty good... He will actually work damn good. Done, Inoichi is the New teacher.**

**Anyway, Yeah. RE-WRITE IN PROGRESS! I will re-write from Chapter 2 and onwards. The first Chapter is still acceptable, if a bit terrible grammar-wise.**

**WISH ME LUCK, AND DON'T KILL ME! I NEED TO LIVE IF I WANT TO WRITE... AND I AM WAY TO *Insert random thing here* TO DIE!**


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